Kindness of Strangers
by Kazet
Summary: Revised through chapter 6. Working on the rest. Harry never got on the Knight Bus. He followed after that black dog instead. Why? He doesn't know. Sirius then follows a young Harry back to school for the year.
1. The Grim

**AN:** Just a bit of revision. I finally have time to work on this, and am doing so slowly. I hope to possibly finish it this summer.

**Disclaimer:** The characters are most certainly not mine. They belong to J. K. Rowling. There are parts in this story that will very closely resemble the book as I did try to get the beginning of it to follow along. Those parts obviously belong to Rowling as well. I own nothing, other than perhaps a general idea.

**Kindness of Strangers**

**THE GRIM**

Emerald Eyes looked up from the worn trunk, glancing around into the darkness that surrounded their owner, the hairs on his neck standing on end. The young wizard was sure there was someone... or perhaps even some_thing_ watching him. He looked down at his trunk again when he could not locate the source of the gaze, thinking that perhaps in his frazzled state that he had imagined it. Almost immediately, however, he felt the eyes boring into him again and he glanced up towards the alleyway, sure that that was where the gaze was originating from. You could call him paranoid, but after having Voldemort trying to actively kill him, he thought he was allowed to be a little bit paranoid. Harry was no ordinary wizard. Long ago, his parents had died, and the present headmaster of the school he attended had thought it best to give him to his Aunt Petunia and her husband. The older wizard had tried to explain to him that it was for his own well being and protection, but when Harry found himself half starved on a regular basis, really how much safer was it than it would have been had he been allowed to remain at the school. Besides, he had never heard of there being a secret keeper for his home. What was stopping Voldemort from attacking Privet Drive? Harry had a sneaking suspicion that the lizard simply didn't care enough yet to attack him there. After all, he still needed his own body. Harry was sure that that took priority over him for the time being. He held no doubts that the megalomaniac knew where he lived each summer or could find out if he so chose. It wasn't as if he had noticed anyone taking great pains to hide the address. No, it was more than likely that Voldemort didn't care. The youth sighed, shaking his head a bit to get it back on track. Somehow his thoughts always turned to Voldemort one way or the other if allowed to wander enough. For some reason, his family always reminded him of the dark wizard, and it really was no stretch of the imagination to guess why.

Emerald eyes narrowed as he tried to see into the shadows of the alley without much success. There just wasn't enough light for his already less than perfect eyesight to make anything out clearly. "Lumos," Harry whispered holding his wand in front of him to see better. There! Two large, gleaming, silvery grey eyes peered at him from the shadows. Even with the light of his wand it was difficult to make out the exact shape, but it appeared to be a, 'a bear?' he thought. 'Odd.' He hadn't heard about any escaping from the zoo and they certainly weren't native to the neighborhood.

Neither moved for a few loaded seconds of silence, only soft blare of a car horn somewhere off in the distance was heard. Suddenly there was a loud bang, and in the next instant, a violently purple bus was hurtling towards him, forcing Harry to jump out of the way in order to avoid being hit. He ignored the conductor speaking to him, turning his back to the young man to glance back at the space next to the garage. The dark figure and shining eyes, however, were nowhere to be seen.

Harry quickly slammed his trunk shut, cast a quick charm for it to float after him, and took off running after the animal, what he assumed had to be a dog as there was no way that it could have been a bear, ignoring the confused calls of the conductor. If anyone had asked why he was chasing after the stray, he wouldn't have been able to answer them. He honestly didn't know, only... there was something in those eyes that called to him. He never even heard the outraged protests follow him for wasting the driver's time. It didn't matter. All that mattered was catching that dog.

--

What Harry didn't know, was that it hadn't been an animal at all. It was a wizard, a very panicked one at that. "Shit! He's seen me! Oh, shit, where do I go? What do I do? Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Sirius thought frantically as he turned tail and began to race off back through the alleyway. He'd only wanted to catch a glimpse of his godson, just to be sure that the boy was truly safe with his Aunt. He had never liked the woman, knowing how she had felt about Lily. He had wanted to be sure that Harry was healthy and well. The wizard knew that things could not have been going well as it looked as if his godson were in the process of running away. He wished he knew why, but he knew there was no way he could simply just ask. Petunia would have told the boy all about him, all about how he had murdered Harry's parents and had planned to murder him. Surely she would have told him that just to make the boy miserable. Silver eyes looked back every so often checking to see if he was still being followed. As far as he could tell, Harry had not given up the chase. He found it odd that his godson had not given up yet. As far as Harry knew, he was just an ordinary stray. Why bother wasting time and energy to follow him. The knight bus had been there. He could have gone anywhere he wanted, and yet he was running after a dog.

Unless... unless somehow he knew. Perhaps he chased after him to obtain his revenge for his parents' deaths. Maybe Lily had mentioned it in passing to Petunia that he was an animagus and she in turn had told Harry about his godfather. He doubted it, but it was the only excuse he could come up with at the moment. Er... Well, it was either that or Harry was cruel and liked to beat up dogs, but that idea was swiftly tossed aside as impossible. No son of Lily Potter would be cruel no matter who he was raised by.

--

Harry was thinking along the same lines as he followed the dog further out of the city towards the vast rolling hills just past its outskirts. It made no sense. He should be worrying about the Ministry swooping down on him to send him off to Azkaban! Instead, he was following a large black dog to Merlin only knew where. In the process he was becoming increasingly more worn out and exhausted, pain stabbing his lungs as he struggled to take in oxygen as he kept up the quick pace the dog had set. With all of his quidditch practice, he thought he would have had a better endurance, but apparently, it was far more difficult to run than fly.

"WAIT! Please, wait!" Harry called after the dog, his chest heaving as his lungs worked to suck in much needed air. He couldn't go on much longer and began to slow down, eventually stopping all together and collapsing back onto his trunk when his legs gave out. He was exhausted, his lungs burned, his head too heavy to keep up any longer. He'd really screwed up this time. He had been so focused on the dog that he hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. He had to be lost.

He blinked, starting a bit as something cold and wet nudged his cheek. He turned his head slightly to see the large, black dog sitting next to him patiently. He gave it a small, tired smile and patted its large head. It gave a low pleasured rumble as Harry began to scratch the soft ears. "Thanks fer waitin'," he murmured offering the beast a weary smile. His mind was too exhausted to even begin to question why the dog had come back for him instead of continuing on whatever path it had been on as it ran from him.

The dog panted from its own exertion, but happily licked the side of the boy's face. It glanced around nervously, taking hold of Harry's sleeve in his mouth and gently tugging. It seemed to Harry as if the beast wanted him to follow. He struggled getting up, limbs weak from his long run. "Why not? I've already gone this far, though I'm surprised the Ministry hasn't gotten me yet," he muttered almost dejectedly, not looking forward to when the Ministry finally did find him, positive that he would be expelled from Hogwart's at the very least. It wasn't his first offense. Well, it was, but they didn't think so. They still blamed him for Dobby's use of magic. You would think that they would give their supposed savior a little more leeway.

Harry quickly realized that it wasn't the right thing to have said. As soon as the Ministry was mentioned, the dog gave a sharp bark and growled, tugging more incessantly on his sleeve. Apparently it was understood that Harry was in some sort of trouble and that it was the Ministry who were the cause of it. He just assumed that the canine had picked up on the displeasure in his voice, rather than the actual words. He'd heard that some animals were actually quite intelligent and in tune with their master's emotions.

What Harry didn't know, was that the dog understood each word spoken quite clearly and was not overly fond of the Ministry himself. After all, they were the ones he himself was hiding from. They were the ones whom had wrongly imprisoned him without a fair trial. He'd never even had a chance to explain about Peter and what the rat had done. He briefly wondered what his godson had done to be on the run from the ministry. How did a thirteen year old boy attract the sort of attention from them that would cause him to fear being found?

--

'Oh, for Merlin's sake! I need to get him out of here!' Sirius glanced around, his eyes lighting on the dark trees to their left. If he could get Harry there, he'd be able to apparate them somewhere closer to his own home. He knew it'd need cleaning, but it was better than nothing, right? They couldn't very well remain out in the open just waiting for ministry officials to pick them up. He wanted his name cleared, and knew without a doubt that that would never happen unless he got his hands on that damned rat. Not to mention that there was the very real possibility that Peter would hurt his godson if the right prompting came along.

His sigh of relief was released as an odd snuffling sound which caused the boy following along beside him to snicker. He wasn't sure whether it was the noise that had caused his godson to laugh or the pure absurdity it must seem like to leave one's life in the hands, paws, of a mere dog. Sirius attempted to snicker, but the sound came out as something similar to the unusual snuffle from before.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Harry looked down at him, mirth in his eyes. His godson _was_ laughing at him! Sirius snorted haughtily, holding his head high, and trotted ahead a little bit hoping the boy would understand the message. He seemed to because the laughter died down as Harry caught up with him again.

"Sorry... um, I was... is... can you understand me?" Sirius thought there was an underlying tone of nervousness to the question. He nodded turning his canine face up to the boy to look him in the eyes. He did his best to give Harry a reassuring smile before nuzzling the boy's hip. Emerald eyes gazed back at him for a few moments before his godson sighed as well. "Well, if I can talk to snakes, I guess it isn't that far of a reach to find a dog that understands me," Harry chuckled softly to himself, causing Sirius to give a quizzical tilt of his head. His godson could talk to snakes? As in a parseltongue? How in Merlin's name had that happened?

Another snuffle escaped as Sirius once again attempted to sigh in his grim-like form. He was satisfied that they were far enough into the woods to apparate to his mother's house safely. He concentrated all his energy on the task and just as Harry placed his hand on the top of his head, he completed his thoughts, sending them both to the room he saw in his mind's eye.

--

Harry gasped jerking his hand away from the dog again as if burned. What had just happened? He had just been in the forest the moment before and now he was hurtling through space. He landed with a hard 'thunk' onto a dusty wooden floor. Where was he and where was the dog? "Ow," he groaned, rubbing at his elbow as his sat up. He reached out, sighing in relief once he had located his glasses nearby, bringing them up to settle them comfortably on his nose. There was a slight crack in one of the lenses, but there was little he could do about that as he couldn't use magic. He'd have to wait until he stepped onto the Hogwart's Express to fix them. Emerald eyes blinked, adjusting to the dimness of the room he found himself in now that he was done determining the damage to his glasses. At least they were still usable. The room he was in wasn't one he recognized, and he somehow doubted that many would if the thick layers of dust were anything to go by. It was clear that no one had stepped foot into it in years.

--

Sirius panicked, resuming his human form shortly after Harry broke contact with him. If anything had happened to the boy... James would never forgive him. What if Harry had been splinched? He should have changed forms _before_ apparating so that he could grab a hold on the boy. He never should have tried it while in his canine form. He had broken out of Azkaban to protect Harry and now he had probably gotten him splinched. Some godfather he was turning out to be.

He shuddered at the thought, searching the house frantically. He was upstairs in his room, just as he had planned to be, but he had no idea where his godson had gone to. He shouldn't have broken the contact. _He_ should have made sure he couldn't! He'd never forgive himself if anything bad had happened to Harry. He'd send himself back to Azkaban.

"Harry!" his voice came out raspy and cracked due to years of disuse. He swallowed, trying to wet his throat a bit and tried again. "Harry!" He turned his head sharply as he heard something fall and break downstairs. 'Harry?' Sirius didn't waste his time, and quickly took off running for the stairs.

"Harry!" Sirius called in relief as he burst into the living room and spotted his godson on his hands and knees off to the side of the room. It appeared that Harry had knocked a vase off the coffee table as he crawled around in the semidarkness. "Harry, are you alright?" he swiftly lit the candles in the room and cleaned the porcelain shards from the floor so that his godson wouldn't accidentally cut himself with them.

Vibrant eyes darted up towards the direction from which the voice had come from. "Wha... who are you?" Harry stammered, his eyes growing wide as recognition sank in. "You're, you're..." his voice trailed off as he scuttled backwards towards the wall, away from the mass murderer he had seen on the television just that morning. His Aunt didn't seem so crazy anymore to have been staring out the window as if the murderer were skulking around in their garden.

Sirius gave a deep sigh. "Yes. I am who you think I am... _but_ I am of no danger to you," he added softly, coughing a bit. "Come here," he commanded firmly, yet with no trace that he was doing so to establish superiority. His tone was almost… consoling.

Harry carefully pushed himself to his feet, clutching his wand tightly in one hand and cradling his injured one close to his chest. He did as he was asked, not because he believed Black, but because he was afraid not to. If the man could kill all those people, what was stopping the man from killing him?

"This way. I'll take care of your hand... then we need to talk," he rasped hoarsely as he led the way to a large kitchen and pulled out a chair for Harry who immediately sat. Harry watched as the man conjured up a pair of clean rags. One he wet and used to clean Harry's wound after he was sure there were no foreign objects still embedded into his palm. The other he used as a bandage, wrapping it tenderly around Harry's outstretched palm.

He nodded, apparently satisfied before turning and fixing himself a glass of water to soothe his throat. "Harry... I'm not sure how much you know about me, so I will ask you to tell me what you know first. I will be able to fill in the gaps from there," He pulled out a chair and sat across from the boy, grey eyes intense as he looked across the table at him.

The young wizard glanced around nervously before finally deciding to focus his eyes on an indentation in the table. The table by far was less disconcerting to look at than the man's haunted eyes. "I, uh, you were on the Muggle ne... I mean you were on the news."

"I know what 'Muggles' are Harry," Sirius interrupted softly causing the boy to look up sharply. "Go on."

After taking a deep breath, he nodded. "Well, all they really said was that you'd killed thirteen people and broke out of where ever it was that they had been keeping you. They said you were armed and dangerous," he told him quietly, still adverting his eyes.

Sirius chuckled humorlessly. "Amazing," he deadpanned, shaking his head.

"Pardon?" Harry asked tilting his head a bit, clearly confused.

"They only got one thing right. Yes, I did break out of Azkaban. And well, I guess they've got me on armed since I have my wand. And I guess they're right about my being dangerous, too, but... only to one person," Sirius sneered to himself, nearly forgetting that he wasn't alone and could possible be scaring his godson. He casually took another sip of water, the slightly crazed look fading almost instantly.

Harry swallowed nervously, fidgeting in his seat. "Azkaban?" Harry nearly squeaked. Now he was most certainly not consoled by the information, and the look the man had had in his eyes had been of no help. It only served to heighten his desire to flee. "So then, you're a wizard?"

"Naturally," he nodded with a confident smile, the smallest trace of light burning in his eyes for a moment.

Of course the man was a wizard. He had just seen him conjure the rags from thin air. No Muggle could do that. Somehow, the thought didn't console him that the murderer was also a wizard. "Er... Mr. uh... Mr. Black? How did you know my name if I may ask that is?" he hastened to include, not being sure whether or not questions were allowed, or if they would set off the convict.

Sirius frowned. "No need to call me Mr. Black. Sirius will do nicely. And as to how I know your name, I'll get to that," the man frowned as he surveyed the room. It really was filthy. He conjured up another wet cloth and began wiping off the table at which they were currently seated, upon which Harry had been absentmindedly been doodling small designs in the thick layer of dust.

Harry blushed when Sirius chuckled softly. He hadn't realized he'd even been doing it. It had just helped to soothe his nerves, giving his hands something to do other than fidget. His hands quickly found a home in his lap as the convict wiped away the thick dust, effectively erasing his doodles.

"Relax, Harry. I would never hurt you. I would die before I even considered it. I've been forced to neglect my duties for far too long as it is," Sirius murmured, resting a hand on Harry's shoulder as he came up behind him. He waited until the tension disappeared beneath his hand before he removed it. He wanted to earn the boy's trust, and proving to him that he meant him no harm was high up on his list of priorities.

"Duties?" Harry turned in his seat to look up at Black questioningly, wondering what duties the man could possibly have that concerned him. Was he a death eater on a mission to kill him? Was it that kind of duty?

Sirius offered a weary smile, having a pretty good idea of where his godson's thoughts were venturing if the expression on his face was anything to go by. "Yes. Your father appointed me your godfather in case anything were to happen to him. Unfortunately something did," a pained expression flitted across the hollow features for a split second before being replaced by one less readable.

He worked his way around the kitchen giving each surface a preliminary cleaning. He would ask Harry to help him truly clean the house. That was, if Harry wished to stay which was something he was not entirely sure would happen. He spared a glance at the almost teenager and found him staring at him in disbelief.

"It's true. I was his best friend, even before we went to Hogwarts together. After school got out, he married your mother. I was happy to stand as his best man at the wedding. About a year later, you were born and they asked me to be the godfather. Of course I readily agreed. I loved James. He was like a brother to me. Unfortunately, Voldemort decided to make your family his next victim.

"We knew there was a spy telling Voldemort all of their moves. They wanted to protect you and asked me to be their secret keeper. At first I agreed, but then I changed my mind. You see, I would have been the obvious choice. I didn't want to risk Voldemort coming after me and succeeding in gaining their location. I wasn't scared mind you, but I will not pretend to be an equal to Voldemort. He would have found some way to get the information he wanted.

"So, I suggested that Peter be their secret keeper instead," here Sirius paused, taking a sip of water, but Harry was positive that was just an excuse. Whatever came next would not be easy for the convict to say and therefore would probably be difficult for him to hear as well.

"Peter was a screw up. Practically a squib. He should have been perfect for being a secret keeper. No one would have suspected him," Sirius clenched his hands tightly about the rag in his fists, nearly tearing it in half. "We never suspected him to be the spy either. We had no idea he was the one selling Lily and James out.

"The night after the charm had been placed, I went to check on Peter. When he wasn't there, I knew something was wrong. I went straight to Godric's Hollow, but it was too late," he said quietly, bitterness leaving his mouth dry once again. If only he had been the secret keeper. He would have gone into hiding and would have never seen James, Lily, or Harry again if that was what it took to keep them safe.

"It was your motorcycle wasn't it?" Harry asked inquisitively. He remembered it from his dreams from long ago.

Sirius had to chuckle at the question, finding it to be rather out of the blue. "Yes, I loved that thing. Hagrid was already there when I arrived and he was holding you. I tried to beg him to let me have you, but he refused so I let him borrow my bike and take you to Dumbledore. I was furious. I knew they suspected me. Last Dumbledore had heard, I was supposed to be the secret keeper... Of course I was the first suspect.

"I went after Peter. I was going to kill him, but little Petey got the better of me. He destroyed a Muggle alleyway, killing twelve people and all the while shouting about how _I_ had betrayed them. I didn't Harry. You've got to believe that!" Sirius looked almost desperate as he turned silver-grey eyes to his godson. It wasn't enough to know that James understood. He needed Harry to accept the truth, to forgive him for not being able to save his parents.

"I... I believe you," he wasn't sure why he did, but he did. Black was too sincere for it to be a lie. He had also felt a lot of his apprehension drain away as he listened to the man's story. No one could be that good of an actor. Well, it was possible, but Harry doubted that this was an act, and he was generally pretty good at reading people.

The man closed his eyes in relief. "You have no idea how much that means to me," he murmured before resuming both his cleaning and his story, albeit at a much slower pace. Now that Harry believed him, the urgency of relating what had happened didn't seem so dire. "Peter then cut off his own finger and after turning into a rat, scurried down into the sewers leaving me to blame. I... I just stood there laughing. I thought I... I thought I had killed Peter, that I had given him what he deserved.

"I was wrong," Sirius pulled out a clipped photo from the _Daily Prophet_ out of his robes and handed it to Harry. "That's Peter Petigrew on that boy's shoulder. Look at his front paw. I knew as soon as I saw him what he must have done, that you were in danger and I managed to escape to come to Hogwarts to protect you, to get rid of Peter."

Harry did as he was asked, gasping softly in surprise when he recognized those in the photo. It was of the Weasleys and the rat in question was Scabbers! He looked up at his godfather almost in horror. "I know them. The boy's Ron. He's my best friend. That's his pet rat..." Harry trailed off staring at the picture again. He'd been sleeping in the same room as the man responsible for his parents' deaths and he hadn't had any clue! He had to take several moments to regain control of the emotions suddenly welling up.

Sirius moved to place his hand back on Harry's shoulder offering what comfort he could.

"You've been in Azkaban all this time because of him. Because of something he did," Harry stared dazedly up at the owner of the hand who just nodded silently. "We have to do something. We have to prove you're innocent," he said emphatically, a new respect rising for the man who had more than likely seen worse things than he himself had, and that was saying something.

"If... if I am proven innocent. Would you, would you like to stay with me here? I know it's not much, but I thought maybe we could fix it up before you went off to school if you were interested," Sirius fidgeted nervous looking positively afraid of hearing Harry's answer.

"You mean...?" Harry's eyes went wide.

"I understand if you wanna stay with the Durselys. They got a nicer place and all, but I just thought I'd offer," he finished quietly beginning to turn away, using cleaning as a handy excuse for putting distance between them.

Harry lunged up from his seat, launching himself at his godfather. "Are you kidding?! I'd love to stay with you!" Harry's voice cracked and he blushed. "I hate the Dursleys! Anywhere with you is better than there with them." Harry clung onto the wraithlike convict smiling, ridiculously happy. This was the best day of his life!

Sirius smiled to himself, wrapping his arms around his godson. He was glad Harry had accepted him into his life so easily. He just hoped he could make it up to the boy for all the years he hadn't been there.

**TBC…**


	2. Watch out for that stove!

**AN:** Again, just revision for now.

**Disclaimer:** Same as before. Not mine.

**Kindness of Strangers**

**WATCH OUT FOR THAT STOVE!**

"Hey Sirius?" Harry glanced back over his shoulder from where he was kneeling on a counter cleaning out a cupboard.

"Yeah, Harry?" Sirius asked absently, attempting to scrub at an un-cooperating stove.

"Where'd the dog go?"

"Oh, him," Sirius chuckled for a moment before continuing to attempt cleaning the stove. It looked more like he was waging a full scale war against it and it seemed as if the stove were winning. "That was me actually. I'm an animagus. Peter wasn't the only one. James and I helped him with it. It was our idea."

"So an animagus is a wizard that can turn into an animal, then," Harry turned around, dangling his legs over the side of the countertop to watch his godfather. There were so many interesting things about him.

"Correct. Although since I'm not registered, my actually doing so is illegal, but hey. So is breaking out of Azkaban," he shrugged kicking the stove once for good measure as it tried to bite him. "Every animagus is required to register. We didn't, which actually turned out to be a blessing and a curse for me. It's what got me out of Azkaban, but it's also what got me into it."

"So my Dad was one, too?" green eyes lit up in interest. With Sirius around he'd be able to learn more about his parents. He'd heard a bit here and there from people, but not nearly enough to satisfy his curiosity.

"Yup, a stag. Why he chose that in particular, I'll never know. Odd creature in my opinion. Well I can understand since it was big, but the hooves and just the fact that it was a stag was strange," he chuckled making a peculiar face as if trying to figure out the beast's appeal.

It did seem like an odd animal to choose in his opinion as well, but one comment had caught his attention. "Why did size matter? And how is a dog any better than a stag?" In his mind, by being the dog, it would make the person an easy target for those sorts of jokes.

"Oh, well. We did it in our fifth year. We wanted to be able to hang out with Remus when the full moon came around. He was a werewolf, y'see? They're only dangerous to humans so we figured out a way to go with him. We'd become animagi. We needed to be big so that we could control him if necessary," he explained patiently, pleased that Harry was so interested in his parents.

"Was? Does that mean he's died to?" he asked cautiously, partially afraid to hear the answer. He didn't want to say anything that would upset the man. It was obvious that the man had suffered during his time in Azkaban, and he certainly didn't want to add to his godfather's pain.

"Huh? Oh, I don't think so. I haven't heard from him. He could be doing anything. An' no smart aleck remarks about being a dog. It looks like a grim," Sirius chided gently giving a dirty glare to the uncooperative stove. "You'd think it didn't want to be cleaned," he muttered under his breath.

Green eyes crossed a bit in confusion of the explanation as to why he shouldn't tease his godfather about being a dog. "Oh, okay. Um, what's a grim?" Harry asked tilting his head to the side as he slid off of the counter and moved over to where Black was standing practically cursing the stove now.

"It's a bear sized dog that is a symbol of death. People usually tend to die shortly after seeing one. You know something Harry? Maybe we should work on where we're sleeping first. I should have thought of that earlier, but well, we were in here, and it just made sense at the time... Come on. Let's go stake out a room for you. Shall we?" he turned to the smaller boy, smiling down at him. It wasn't all that late, but the stove was starting to irritate him and by the time they finished cleaning Harry's room it would be late if the time it was taking to work on the kitchen was any indication.

"Sure. I am getting sort of tired," he shrugged smiling back. He liked seeing Sirius smile. It made him look younger and less like the man he had seen on the Muggle news. Less like a crazed mass murderer that is.

"I thought so. Either that or I'm old and get tired a lot sooner than I'd like."

"Naw, yer not old, just ancient," he reassured him, somehow managing to keep an even tone.

"Thanks... Hey!" Black stared down at the boy. He had a hard time adjusting to the fact that the words had come out of his godson's mouth. He grinned. At least it meant the boy felt comfortable around him.

"Hmm?" Harry looked up at him innocently. He held back a snicker as he tried to remain straight faced. It only lasted a split second before he broke out laughing.

Sirius shook his head in disbelief as they climbed the stairs. "I'll give you my brother's old room. I'll advise you to keep the door locked at night though. Kreacher tends to wander around annoying people," Sirius warned unlocking a door to his right and allowing Harry to enter before he too followed him into the dark room.

"Who's Kreacher?" Whoever, or whatever it was didn't sound too pleasant.

"The house elf. He's old, crotchety and hates me. He won't like you any better. Trust me. If he gives you any trouble just let me know." He took a look around the room. It was better than the kitchen had been which was a good sign. "Well, it looks like you'll have to do stuff manually since I don't want you to get into trouble any more with the ministry. It'll be bad enough that they won't be able to locate you here. Here ya go. Start anywhere you'd like," Sirius tossed Harry a few rags he had conjured up along with a heavy duty cleaner.

After waiting for Harry to get started on cleaning off the surfaces, he took to cleaning the drapery on the windows and bed, refreshing the sheets as well. "Hey, Har'? What are those Muggle things called? Those boxes that play music. Did you want to listen to one?"

"Oh, a radio. Yeah, sure. That'd be great," Harry grinned happily. He couldn't believe he was finally away from the Dursleys. Sure the house needed a bit of fixing up. Okay, so it needed a lot of fixing up, but it was still better than the Dursleys. At least here he was wanted it seemed. He didn't have to pretend to be "normal." He _was_ normal, a normal wizard boy.

"Alright then," Black swished his wand in the direction of the dresser and at once a small black radio appeared just a little too close to the edge. Harry made a mad dash to catch it before it hit the floor. He grunted as he caught it landing harshly on the ground himself. He rubbed at his shoulder trying to dull the ache. Sirius stuck out a hand to help him too his feet, looking sheepish as he did so. "Sorry, Har. Didn't mean for it ta fall."

"It's all right. I've had worse," Harry shrugged off the concern, carefully placing the radio on top of the dresser and flipping it on. He blinked when his godfather caught his arm. He looked up at him questioningly.

"What do you mean you've 'had worse'? The Dursleys didn't abuse you did they? Tell me they didn't lay a finger on you," Sirius growled dangerously causing Harry to shrink back at the unexpected violence in the man.

That it was not directed at him was no consolation. "No, no that's not what I meant. They never hit me. Only Dudley and his gang did," Harry stumbled over the words in a rush to get them out.

Silver eyes narrowed dangerously in barely repressed rage. "Who's Dudley?" he asked, his voice low, his temper held taut by a thin thread.

"My, m-my cousin," Harry winced as the grip tightened on his arm where a bruise was sure to form before his godfather seemed to realize what he was doing and let go of him hastily.

It took Sirius several moments to gain enough control back to respond. "Alright. Thankfully, you will no longer be staying with him. I, I'm sorry Harry. I didn't hurt you too bad did I?" Sirius looked down at him with a pained expression. He couldn't believe he had just done that to his godson. He was there to protect him, not manhandle him!

"No. I'll be okay," he gave the man a tremulous smile deciding never to tell him what the Dursleys _had_ done to him instead of hitting him. Nor would he tell him about his run-ins with Voldemort.

"If you're sure," he waited until Harry nodded. "Well then, we should probably get this finished. We still have a lot of cleaning to do tomorrow. It'll probably take us until it's time for you to go back to school to get it all done or even close to done. I'm sorry I couldn't have had this in better shape. I wasn't intending for you to actually see me and want to stay with me. It was sorta more than I had hoped for," he murmured apologetically, all traces of the earlier menace gone from his voice.

Harry paused to look questioningly at his godfather, trying to figure out why he wouldn't want to leave the Dursley's to stay with him. Well, other than the fact that he was a convict, but that had been explained already. "Why? Oh. I get it. You blame yourself. Is that it?"

Sirius snorted and Harry smiled in response. He was reminded of the snuffling sound the man had made when he had still been in his canine for.

"It wasn't, you know." He immediately clarified himself catching sight of Sirius' questioning look. "Your fault, I mean. If anyone is to blame, it's Peter and Voldemort. You did what any intelligent person would have. It was a great idea, you just didn't have all the information. I don't blame you for their murder. You had no way of knowing," he murmured quietly, cleaning off the nightstand so that he'd be able to put his glasses there later.

"Thank you, Harry. That means a lot to me. If... if you understand then maybe, so do Lily and James." He knew that James would never blame him for outright killing them, but it was possible that James blamed him for urging Peter to be the secret keeper instead.

Harry nodded confidently back at his godfather. "I would think so. You were my Dad's best friend. He had to have known that you wouldn't want anything to happen to him."

"Yes, yes, you're right," Sirius smiled. "Okay no more soppiness. One of us might end up crying if we keep this up," he chuckled, fearful that in the end it would be he that broke first and cried.

Harry chuckled, but silently agreed. "Sure thing, Snuffles."

"What did you call me?" Black asked in an almost incredulous tone.

"Snuffles" Harry turned to face him, smiling broadly.

"I'll show you Snuffles!" he growled playfully, lunging at Harry and knocking him to the bed as he began tickling him.

"I give! I give! Mercy!" Harry laughed trying to wriggle out from underneath the man, ineffectually trying to push the hands away. "I give!" he screeched clutching his aching sides as his godfather finally decided to let up.

Sirius laughed pushing himself up from the bed and moving to the door. The room was clean enough for the night and he still had his own to work on. "So where'd 'Snuffles' come from?"

"Well, when you were a dog, you kept making these snuffling noises so I thought that if we went out in public, you could go as a dog and I could call you Snuffles. That way no one would be suspicious," Harry shrugged, wincing a little at the pain in his side from laughing so much. Blowing up Marge had definitely been worth this. Hopefully, he wouldn't be expelled for it.

The convict stood silently for a few moment, pondering the nickname. "All right. Actually, that's a really good idea. You can call me that while we're at Hogwart's too, since I'll be attending it with you," he grinned, striding out of the room and shutting the door behind him, effectively causing him to miss the stunned expression on his godson's face.

Grey eyes glanced down, noticing Kreacher lurking about in the shadows. "Go back downstairs. You are to leave this room alone. It is off limits to you at all times," he ordered quietly, yet firmly indicating that there would be serious trouble if his wish were denied. He called back to Harry to remember to lock the door before going upstairs to his own room. Thankfully he already had a head start on it and it would only need a little bit of work before it was deemed habitable for the night. There was also the slight need to retrieve his godson's trunk from the forest. Harry might want it if he planned to wear different clothes come morning. Quickly, he took care of that task, leaving the trunk just inside Harry's door and saying another quick goodnight before heading to his own room.

**TBC…**


	3. Ice cream and train rides

**AN:** More Revision. Slowly getting towards the ends of revising, then it will be new stuff, though I can't guarantee when that will be.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Same as Chapter 1.

**Kindness of Strangers**

**ICE CREAM AND TRAIN RIDES**

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?" the man in question mumbled around the sore digit in his mouth. He had once again been attempting to get the stove to cooperate without much luck. He glared at it, and taking his finger out of his mouth just long enough to swish his wand at it, caused it to disappear with a simple recited spell. "Guffwe gnee uh gnew uhn," he shrugged, his finger having found its way to his mouth again.

He sighed, turning around to regard Harry questioningly as he used magic to heal the nick on his finger.

"Well, I got my supply list and everything before I left the Dursleys, but I still have to go to Diagon Alley to get them. I didn't know if you wanted me to go by myself or, or if you wanted to come," Harry paused in cleaning the table to look up at his godfather.

"Hmm... As long as we don't stay after dark it should be alright. From what I've heard, Dementors are free to roam searching for me after it gets dark. So yeah, I think I will accompany you. I'll just hide out if anything goes wrong and meet you just outside of the Leaky Cauldron," he grinned, ecstatic to be given the chance to get out of the house and move around in the sunshine.

"Great!" Harry smiled up at him, snickering as he glanced at the spot where the stove used to sit.

"Well?" the man arched a delicate eyebrow questioningly, leaning back against the counter to watch his godson expectantly.

"Well what?" he cocked his head to the side curiously.

"What's so funny?" Sirius placed his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You," the boy shrugged in return, clearly not intimidated by the imposing glint in the taller man's eyes.

Dark eyebrows rose curiously at the bold declaration. It still astounded him sometimes how forthright his godson was even after having heard he was a convict wanted for murder. Not that he had actually murdered anyone, but he planned to. "Me? How so?"

"You got beaten by a stove," Harry snickered again turning back to the table.

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't see you trying to tackle it," he muttered chucking a wet rag at the back of Harry's head. "Next time, I'll let you do it. That is, if you think you can handle it."

"Sorry, can't. Not allowed to do magic on the holidays," he smiled cheerfully, for once quite pleased with the rule. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Um, how're you gonna get into Hogwarts?"

Sirius brought a hand up, the side of his index finger disappearing into his mouth as he thought about the answer. "I suggest you send an owl to Dumbledore informing him that you have heard a rumor that I'm on the loose and plan on going after you. Inquire about bringing your dog to keep an eye out for you. Tell him it would make you feel safer if I were around," he nodded, deciding that the story would have to do. It was the best he could come up with for the moment.

The only other option was to tell Dumbledore the truth, but that wasn't something he was quite ready to do just yet. It would mean admitting that he and his friends had betrayed him all those years ago. He understood that he was asking Harry to betray the man as well, but he felt this situation was different. It was for Harry's own protection.

Wormtail was potentially dangerous. He would not think twice about destroying Harry if it appeared that Voldemort was once more gaining power. Harry was his responsibility. If they informed Dumbledore, both would become his responsibility more so than they already were.

"We'll send the owl today in order to give him enough time to reply back and see what his restrictions, requirements, et cetera, are. I expect he'll want to test me to make sure I'm trained," he shrugged, conjuring up a quill and a piece of parchment.

Harry sat at the newly cleaned table, picking up the quill. He looked up at his godfather, silently asking for his assistance in wording the letter.

Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,

I wanted to let you know that I'm safe as I'm sure that my whereabouts have concerned you. I heard that Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban to come and find me. By now, you probably know that I'm no longer staying with the Dursleys. I'm hiding out and taking care of myself. I picked up a dog to keep an eye out for me.

He's trained really well, at least I think he is. He follows my commands anyway. He's been with me for over a week now and I haven't had any problems with him. I was hoping you'd permit me to bring him to school with me. I know the rules don't allow them, but with Black on the loose looking for me, I'd feel safer if Snuffles came with me. There is also no one to look after him if I were forced to leave him behind. Please send a reply back with Hedwig. She knows how to find me.

Harry

Harry looked the letter over twice before handing it to his godfather to do the same.

Holding the parchment, Sirius nodded, "sounds okay. Now, where's that owl of yours?"

They didn't have long to wait for the reply; Hedwig returned back early the next morning and enjoyed herself nibbling affectionately on Harry's ear. He awoke with a yelp, slapping his hand over the side of his head, using the other to shoo her away. He opened one eye blearily to scowl at the bird. "You could'a waited," he muttered sourly, taking the letter from her. He ignored the indignant hoot she gave, clearly not pleased with his tone of voice.

Dear Harry,

I am glad to hear you are well, yet it is worrisome that I am unable to locate you myself. I do not know how you managed to hear about Black, but I assure you that you will be safe at Hogwarts. However, I have considered your rather unusual request.

I will permit Snuffles to accompany you provided that he accomplishes a test that will be given by Professor McGonagall on the day of your arrival. If he passes, he will be allowed to stay until the threat of Sirius Black is no longer an issue of concern. At that time, we will assess the situation and work out a new solution to ensure that Snuffles receives proper care while you attend school.

Headmaster Dumbledore

**--**

The pair used the knight bus to make their way to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, almost a week after Harry had received his letter from Dumbledore. School would be starting the next day and he and his godfather had decided to rent out a room for the night at the tavern. He let the innkeeper know he had arrived and picked up the key to his room, before heading out the back to Diagon Alley.

Harry smiled down at the large, shaggy dog at his side easily reaching up to his waist. Sirius hadn't been kidding when he spoke of his grim like form and the fear it instilled in people. He was amazed to find many in the crowd shying away from them and adamantly trying to avoid glancing at the furry beast, just incase it was real. They hoped that if they managed to not see it head on then the threat of death would be avoided.

The two found an empty table underneath an umbrella at Florean Fortesque's ice cream parlor. Harry ordered two ice creams, one for himself and a second cone for his godfather to enjoy. He laughed when a cold nose nudged his arm in thanks.

"Harry! Harry, there you are! We've been so worried about you!" a familiar voice called; it was Hermione and she was dragging a reluctant and fearful Ron over to the table as well.

"Hermione! Don't you know what that is?!" Ron's eyes were wide as he stared at the large beast at his friend's side. He couldn't take his eyes off of it to even manage a hello to Harry.

"It's a cute doggy-woggy!" Hermione bent down to the dog's level, smiling at it in a goofy fashion. Her hands reached out to play affectionately with the soft, fluffy ears, earning a pleased rumble from Sirius for her trouble.

Harry looked on in amusement at his friends. Ron's reaction had actually been rather predictable, knowing how fearful Ron was of spiders. It somehow just seemed to fit that he would be superstitious about a dog resembling a grim. Hermione on the other hand. He wasn't sure he had ever heard her use less that the proper, standard English. Certainly he had never heard her use made up words like "doggy-woggy" before. He had to hold back his threatening laughter as he watched her baby talk to a man about twice her age.

"I-i-it-it's a grim!" he nearly shrieked, causing the dog to wince at the high pitched noises that surrounded him. Upon hearing Ron's exclamation, several of the bystanders around them took notice of the dog. Women screamed in terror, men trying to shield the women and children from its view. Florean, himself, came out of the shop to explain that it truly was just a normal Muggle pet, that there was nothing to be worried about or people would have already been dead.

Many seemed to listen to the man, calming themselves down. A few, however, though hearing his words, continued to hasten away rather quickly, attempting to put as much space in between themselves and their families from the beast as possible. "Sorry about that Mr. Potter. We wizards aren't much used to seeing dogs like that every day. Much less dogs in general. They aren't that popular in the wizarding world. So don't be too alarmed if that ever happens again. We're a superstitious people," Florean smiled gently, not blaming Harry a bit for the disturbance. He had expected it to happen sooner or later.

"Thanks Mr. Fortesque! Sorry about that," Harry looked sheepishly at his godfather who for all the world appeared to be silently laughing at him. Ron however, was still attempting not to look at the dog nor acknowledge its presence. "Ron! It's not a grim. It's just my dog, Snuffles. He's harmless. You aren't gonna die," Harry laughed, shaking his head. Ron was such a wuss sometimes. He acted the same way when it came to spiders, trembling in fear.

Ron chanced a look at the dog again. Sirius looked calmly back up at him, panting and wagging his tail happily. When he didn't immediately die, he decided to take Harry's word. Besides if it were a real grim, Harry would have been dead a while ago if the thing had been staying with him. The dog gave Harry a sloppy kiss on his cheek before returning his attention to his forgotten ice cream.

Ron seemed to relax, finally taking a seat across from his best friend. "Did you really blow up your Aunt Harry?" he grinned, pointedly ignoring Hermione's outraged exclamations that he 'shouldn't be encouraging Harry!' and that Harry should 'be more careful!'

Harry nodded, absentmindedly scratching behind two very soft ears. Sirius panted happily and let out a low satisfied rumble. If he had been a cat, it would have been considered a loud purr.

"Well hello there," she cooed to the dog once it had finished its treat, holding her hand out for it to sniff. She had decided to give up on Ron, knowing that he wouldn't listen to her anyway.

Sirius looked at it quizzically before pushing his nose into her hand and bumping it up as he tried to get her to pet him. He figured that if he had to be a dog, he might as well enjoy it. He wouldn't mind sitting there all day with Harry at the little shop, eating ice cream and having his head scratched. It was rather pleasant actually. Certainly, it was a far cry better than sitting in his dank cell at Azkaban.

A delighted giggle escaped the witch's mouth as she took over Harry's job of scratching the dog's head. Sirius wagged his tail contentedly. "Oh, Harry! What's his name? When did you get him?" she asked excitedly.

"About two and a half weeks ago. His name's Snuffles. You should hear the sound he makes sometimes, that's where I got the idea from," Harry grinned. Well at least the convict had been a hit with Hermione. Ron seemed to think he was pretty cool as well once he had gotten over the initial shock. He was going on about Snuffles taking a bite out of Malfoy and his goons if they ran into them.

"Say, Harry? Did you know the Ministry was looking for you? They stopped by the burrow, asking us if we'd seen you since that night you blew up your Aunt," Ron leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Mum was pretty upset."

Harry let out a soft sigh, not at all surprised to hear the news. It was why he had taken off running that night. He didn't want to be found by the ministry. "Yeah, I figured they might do that," he shrugged indifferently.

"Well, where have you been?! Everyone was worried sick!" Hermione threw him a dark look, but suddenly laughed as Snuffles' wet nose nudged her cheek, trying to catch her attention and distract her from lecturing his godson. It wasn't entirely Harry's fault. He'd encouraged him not to send word to his friends for fear of being traced.

"Safe," he assured her. "I've been staying in and around London. I guess you could say I picked up Snuffles to keep a watch out for me. He's kept me company," Harry smiled rubbing the dog's head affectionately.

He marveled at how his relationship changed when his godfather changed forms. He would never be so openly affectionate with him in his human form. It could be misconstrued and start up a lot of whispers. But, for some reason, it just didn't matter when he was in his canine form. He was sure his godfather must have noticed it himself. After all, Sirius' attitude changed as well. He became more carefree and affectionate himself, going as far as to lick his face and rest his head on his thigh. Harry highly doubted that as a man Sirius would every try such stunts.

Hermione scowled. Harry was clearly avoiding answering the question. She wondered just where he had been staying and why no one had been able to pinpoint his location. Dumbledore could find anyone. He always knew where someone was, so why hadn't he been able to find Harry either? Something was going on, and this time, no amount of studying was going to give her the answer. The only answer lay within her friend, Harry. For the time being, she would need to trust in him that everything had been all right, that he had been safe, and that hopefully he had put his summer to good use. He certainly looked healthier than he normally did when returning to school. Maybe next year if Harry returned to the same place, she and Ron would be able to finally visit their friend during vacation time.

**--**

Harry was delighted when he had learned that the Weasleys and Hermione would all be staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the night as well. They would all be going to King's Cross Station together that morning to board the train for Hogwart's for their third year. Mr. Weasley had informed him the night before that the Ministry was even sending cars to take them to the station since their own car was off running wild in the Forbidden Forest. At least, that was the reason the children were told.

Harry wondered if the real reason for the loan was to keep himself safe from his godfather. The Ministry wasn't particularly known for doing favors for wizards even if they did work for them. He sighed, shaking his head sadly as he finished packing his belongings, and the few they'd gotten for Sirius, into his trunk. Everyone was all wrong. If they had just given his godfather a trial, they would have known that, and he wouldn't need to sneak around the way he was now. There was a certain irony however in the fact that the very cars that were to be used to protect him from his godfather, were also escorting his godfather.

The ride in the dark green Ministry cars was rather uneventful, but Harry marveled at how the cars were able to squeeze into spaces that even his Uncle Vernon's new car wouldn't have been capable of. When they arrived at the station, the Ministry officials helped everyone unload the trunks and put them on trolleys to be wheeled inside.

Arthur had pulled Harry aside at the station, warning him to be extra careful, and not to go do anything rash or any sneaking out. Again, Harry had a distinct feeling that all of this was about his godfather. Molly wished them all a safe trip and a happy school year as she saw them off on the platform after handing out kisses to everyone before they climbed aboard the scarlet steam engine. She and her husband waved until the train disappeared out of sight.

There was only one compartment left with enough room for the three Gryffindor students and their pets. Unfortunately it still wasn't completely empty as they'd have liked. It contained one Professor R. J. Lupin, and Harry'd had to literally drag Snuffles into the compartment while Ron pushed from behind. Even after they'd gotten him in, they'd had to quickly shut the door to stop him from escaping again. He wasn't sure what had his godfather so spooked about entering the compartment, but he made a mental note to ask later.

Harry scratched behind the dark ears trying to calm the canine form of his whimpering godfather. He wondered what was wrong with him. He'd never seen him act that way before. Snuffles wasn't the only one that had something wrong with him. Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, refused to come out of his hiding spot where he formed a lump in Ron's chest pocket.

They'd stopped off to get something for the rat, but Harry doubted that it would seriously work. It looked as if Scabbers was on his last home stretch. He doubted the medicine would work mainly for the reason that it wasn't a real rat. He assumed that the rat was looking sickly and losing both his hair and weight due to worrying about Black's escape from Azkaban. The green eyed wizard however, did not mention his opinion to his friend.

Crookshanks' ugly face appeared even more squashed and ugly as he eyed the red head's pocket hatefully. He swished his bottle tail back and forth stiffly as he kept his vigil on the quivering lump, occasionally purring when Hermione would coo at him and scratch his ears.

Ron cast a dirty look at the cat, "why can't the thing hate Snuffles instead of Scabbers? Aren't cats and dogs supposed to hate each other, too? But noooooo. Snuffles and that _thing_ get along great while that _thing_ wants to eat Scabbers! He's already sick and that cat isn't going to help!" Ron ranted at the only female in the compartment. The cat, or demon, as Ron was more apt to describe it had already attacked him once in an attempt to get at the rat he carried. As per usual, Ron had decided to bear a grudge against both cat and owner.

"Ron, it's just how cats are. They're very intelligent creatures. Crookshanks just puts up with Snuffles because he's so much bigger than he is and isn't stupid enough to think that he'd ever win a fight. Besides, Suffles hasn't been anything but nice to Crookshanks since I got him. You on the other hand, hated him! Maybe that's why he doesn't like your rat. It's because you don't like him and that reflects on Scabbers. He doesn't like him by association. Maybe you should try being nicer to him," Hermione huffed, holding onto the cat protectively as if Ron was about to physically attack the poor thing.

"Guys, keep it down!" Harry whispered, indicating the sleeping professor in the corner. He didn't want to accidentally wake the man up. He looked like he could really use his sleep. Harry hoped the man wasn't ill or anything. He'd decided a while ago that his godfather was afraid of staying so close to the professor in case the man got suspicious. Sirius had long since curled up at Harry's feet, his back to the new DADA professor, his head in the darkest shadows available.

"Why are we stopping?" Ron asked a while later peering out of the darkened window. It had started raining some time ago, lending a dreary feeling to the small compartment. There hadn't been much conversation after that. No one felt in the mood and had opted to take out books instead. "Are we there?"

"Of course not!" Hermione snapped, moving Ron out of the way to look for herself.

"We're letting people on." No sooner had the words left his mouth then all the torches lighting the train suddenly flickered out, leaving the cramped compartment in total darkness.

"Ow! That's my foot!"

"That's my hand!"

"Neville?"

"Ginny?"

"Ow!"

"Sit down!"

"Not here! _I'm_ here!"

"Quiet!" the voice sounded tired, but firm, instantly quieting the commotion. The professor must have woken up, decided the compartment's temporary inhabitants. Just in time it seemed.

Harry began to shiver as a freezing chill crept over his skin. It all seemed to be heading straight for his heart, gripping it, freezing it. He stared up at the cloaked figure standing in the doorway, cold washing over him entirely. He watched as its pale, eerie hand slid back into the creature's robes when it noticed Harry's gaze on it.

He looked up at where a face should have been and instead only saw darker shadows. He vaguely heard a woman scream before the cold overtook him, everything going black as his vision faded. He never remembered sliding down onto the floor and covering his godfather's form with his own in an unconscious protective gesture.

He woke up still partially covering Sirius' furry form. His hands clenched in the thick fur as he realized the form was shivering. He scrambled frantically, trying to see if Sirius was okay. Harry wrapped his arms around the dog's neck, holding on tightly as he blinked around at the rest of the room's occupants. "Where'd the dementor go?" he asked, slightly hazed eyes glancing about at the room's occupants.

Professor Lupin looked at the boy suspiciously. Dementors should not have been covered yet in class. How had he known what the creature was, and why was he guarding a dog, a dog that looked strikingly familiar? The boy should be thinking about himself, after all, he was the one that passed out. "They all left, Harry. Here, eat this. Give some to the dog as well," Lupin broke off a couple pieces of chocolate, handing them to Harry before passing the rest out to the others.

"It's not poisoned. It's safe to eat. It'll help," the professor smiled ruefully, making him look more his age despite the premature grey in his hair. There were creases at the edge of his eyes, making him look even more haggard than he had while he was sleeping.

The students all looked at each other nervously before cautiously taking a bite. Feeling the warmth pool in their stomachs they finished off the medicine quickly, grateful for the respite from the overwhelming cold.

Harry pried the dog's mouth open placing the chocolate on his tongue when his godfather wouldn't take the remedy on his own. He ate his own slowly, watching his godfather with a careful gaze. It had been so cold, but the chocolate was slowly warming him up from the inside out. He only hoped that it helped Sirius feel better as well.

"Professor? Did they really think Black would be on the train?" Hermione asked, finishing off her own bit of sweet candy. Already, her esteem for the man had increased as she became aware that he had obviously had the correct response to a dementor. The chocolate had immediately helped rid any lingering effects. Not only that, but he had also been able to send the creature away.

"I would doubt it," the teacher frowned, glancing at the dog once again at the mention of Black's name. "They feed on emotions which are bound to be high among teenagers and kids your age. A train full of students is like a feast to them, hard to resist," he stuffed a bit of chocolate into his own mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he regarded James' son and his pet. "Are you all right, Harry? The dementors seem to have taken quite a hit on you."

"Yeah, I, I'm all right," Harry grimaced remembering the woman's screams, the blinding green light, and the high pitched laughter. He never wanted to hear either again. He now knew the green light he often saw in his dreams was not from the car crash his Aunt and Uncle had tried to make him believe in, but from Voldemort killing his parents and finally the attempt on his own life. He had a hard time believing that he could remember something from that long ago. He hadn't even been two at the time.

The rest of the train ride followed almost uneventfully compared to the visit from the dementors. Malfoy and his goons had dropped by to mercilessly tease Harry about fainting sometime after the professor had gone back to sleep. It seemed however that he was wary of returning to torment Potter about the fainting incident after he discovered the Grim-like dog and professor residing in the same compartment as the famous Potter. He'd nearly been bitten the first time he'd stopped by when the professor had still been sleeping.

Apparently he hadn't made a good impression on the mangy mutt. He wasn't stupid enough to try his luck on such a small train with so little places to hide. At least he'd be able to continue the torment at school where it would never be a difficult task to escape. And besides, he knew that if the dog actually harmed him, it would be sent away. He grinned to himself, thinking of ways to get the dog to attack him. Potter had made the wrong choice when refusing his friendship back at the beginning of first year.

**TBC…**


	4. The critics

**AN:** Still yet more just revision.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Not likely to change there either.

**Kindness of Strangers**

**THE CRITICS**

Harry glanced worriedly at his godfather. He no longer seemed to be feeling well and the cause didn't seem to have been the dementors. True they had shaken him up, but they certainly weren't the cause of the dog's current behavior. It was as if he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him. "Hermione? Is chocolate bad for dogs?" He looked at her questioningly. It had to have been the chocolate. It was all Sirius had eaten in his canine form that day.

"Yes it is, why? You didn't give Snuffles any did you?" she stared at him accusingly.

"The Professor told me to!" Harry held his hands up in front of him defensively. He hadn't known! He'd never had a dog before and Marge's didn't count. He had never paid attention to their diet. But Sirius wasn't a real dog, did that mean it was alright or was it still bad for him?

Hermione scoffed at the teacher's idiocy before trying to reassure the panicked Harry. "Listen, he probably didn't have too much, so he should just have an upset stomach for a while. He'll be okay though. I promise," she smiled calmly willing Harry to believe her. It was doubtful that the animal had had enough to truly cause any harm. The most that would happen was that Snuffles would throw up the chocolate and start feeling better once it was out of his system.

"I guess the Professor isn't all that familiar with dogs," Ron murmured, he too worrying about his friend's pet. "Hopefully he knows the Defense Against the Dark Arts material better than he knows his animals. Wonder if he'll be as bad as the other two," he sniggered to himself recalling the last two 'teachers' they'd had for that particular class. A rumor was starting to spread that the position was cursed. So far they'd had essentially He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and a pretty faced airhead for teachers. He wondered what this year would bring.

Harry nodded, crouching down to the dog's eye level. "You okay? Is the chocolate disagreeing with you?" he asked softly, his voice full of concern.

The cold wet nose nudged Harry's cheek trying to indicate that he was alright.

Harry framed the canine's face with his hands as he stared into the silvery grey depths of the beast's eyes. "You just putting on a show?" he mouthed, not wanting to be overheard even by his friends.

Sirius nudged him again indicating an affirmative answer, however, he whimpered for show. He truly felt fine, but he had studied up enough on dogs to have learned along the way what sorts of food were bad for them. He assumed the magic within him was what protected him from being taken ill by the sweet food while he was in his canine form.

"Hopefully he'll be alright soon for his test. I wouldn't want him to fail just because a teacher got him sick. That wouldn't be right," Hermione scratched the top of Sirius' head, thinking up a good way to phrase her argument just on the off chance that the teachers attempted to do just that.

/\/\

"Mr. Potter, I expect to see you and your dog in my office after the feast. Do not keep me waiting. Miss Granger, I wish to speak with you as well," McGonagall's voice rang clearly over the heads of the other students around him as she passed on her way to collect the stool and hat for the sorting of the new first years.

Sirius sat obediently at Harry's side, resting his head on the boy's thigh, both begging to be fed and keeping up the ruse that he was still slightly under the weather due to the chocolate. Harry filled his plate once the feast began, feeding pieces to his godfather in between his own bites of food. Both were determined that Sirius would put on his best behavior proving to the teachers that it would not be a liability to allow the dog to remain with him.

Up at the head table, Dumbledore smiled. It seemed Harry had been right. Snuffles appeared to be beautifully trained. The few dogs he'd seen prior would have jumped up at the table and helped themselves, yet Snuffles chose to sit calmly, seemingly confident that he would not go unnoticed by his master. And true to Harry's word, he was in perfect health, better in fact than he had seen Harry look at past opening feasts. It looked as if he had been eating well and he was pleased to see that. He was reluctant to admit that he was uncomfortable not knowing where Harry had been for the past few weeks, but it looked as if wherever it had been, Harry had enjoyed himself and managed to take care of himself properly. It eased his mind to believe that if he himself could not find Harry, that perhaps Black and Voldemort would not be capable of it either.

Further down the table, Professor Lupin watched the pair critically. He would have sworn that the dog was his old friend, Sirius Black. Yet, if that were true, why was Harry safe? Black had broken out to chase after Harry. He shook his head. It was impossible. They might have been able to fool the Headmaster years ago, but the same trick could not work a second time. Could it? He'd try speaking to Harry on the issue, perhaps warn him not to trust the dog so implicitly. He would then speak to the Headmaster, if his suspicions about the dog were appearing to be true.

For now, he'd have to keep his suspicions to himself, lest he inadvertently spook Black and cause him to do something rash, harming Harry in the process. He still refused to believe that it was possible for the dog to truly be Sirius, but it was better to be safe than sorry. If it were to turn out to be Sirius, he wondered what the game was. Why was he doing this to Harry? Why not just dispose of him? If it were true that the two had been together for over two weeks now, he was positive that in that time there would have been ample opportunities for him to make his move. So what was he up to?

He shook his head, forcing himself to return to the moment. He'd warn Harry and keep an eye on the canine. Until he showed some sign, he had no proof or reason to believe that the dog was possibly his old friend given the facts thus far. The dog was protecting the boy, and hopefully, he would continue to do so and no problem would arise.

He smiled, shaking his head ruefully as he watched the students' reactions to the dog. Some ignored him, recognizing him for a normal dog. Remus assumed that most of the students simply ignoring the dog were from Muggle families. One Hufflepuff girl had fainted and had been taken to the medical wing. A few students had screamed upon seeing the beast for the first time, but now most were simply whispering apprehensively to their friends, casting nervous glances the beast's way.

Once the feast was over, Harry and Hermione separated themselves from the rest of the Gryffindors and made their way to their Head of House's office. Hermione went in first to discuss her schedule and he was left to wait just outside the door. He idly pet the soft black fur at his side, tentatively placing his other hand in his pocket reassuring himself that both his and his godfather's wands were safe. He knew he wouldn't need them, but if he were to lose Sirius' there would be a lot of explaining to do.

"Come in, Mr. Potter," Minerva called as she allowed Miss Granger to exit and return to the tower. She wished Harry good luck and offered Snuffles a hug before hurrying off down the corridor.

Harry slowly entered, Sirius trotting along at his side obviously feeling much better after his incident with the chocolate.

"Well, Mr. Potter, sit please. I do not know how long this will take," she gestured to a chair across from her while Harry closed the door behind him. She nodded when he did as was asked of him. She was slightly surprised when Snuffles sat as well next to Harry's left on the floor. "How long did you say that you've had... Snuffles, was it?" she inquired, hoping to put them both at ease.

"Yes, Professor. I've had him for nearly three weeks now. I found him in the pound. I was looking for something to keep an ear out for me after I heard that Black was after me," Harry replied confidently as if the story really were the truth. "I had just left the Dursleys and didn't feel too safe by myself especially since I'm not allowed to do magic on the holidays. I wasn't going to return to the Dursleys, so it seemed like a good idea at the time and I kinda got attached to him," he reached down scratching his godfather's head as he offered his professor a tremulous smile.

She wanted to ask why he had left his family and where he had been staying since then, but knew that wasn't the reason the boy was before her now. She also had the feeling that he would not give her the information she wanted even if she had bothered to ask. He was keeping his secrets, but he was willing to talk about the dog. She nodded, deciding that the answer was acceptable enough for the time being. "Is he trained?"

"I really don't know. They never said, and I never thought to ask. He's been really good for me though, so I think he had to have been," he looked down at Sirius, almost curiously as he watched the dog. To Minerva it looked as if the boy were simply wondering about the life the dog had had before he'd claimed him.

"Does he follow all of your commands?"

"Yes, so far he has," Harry nodded, looking back up at his Head of House.

"Hmm, would you mind if I gave him a few simple commands?"

"Isn't that why we're here?" Harry looked confused. He had expected her to issue commands to test his godfather. He couldn't imagine any other way to test him. He was surprised to find that she had asked for permission.

The Deputy Headmistress offered a smile, not at all surprised that Harry would be confused by her actions. It wasn't often that people treated him as an equal. Merlin knew that his family hated him, and the Headmaster manipulated him horrendously. She doubted that he was ever asked for permission for any of the things that involved him. "Yes, Mr. Potter, it is. All right then. Snuffles," she smiled when the dog immediately swiveled its head around to look at her instead of Harry. "Lay down."

Sirius immediately lowered his front half down slowly, looking up at the professor expectantly once he had completed his task and awaited another.

She nodded her approval, "Up." Sirius clamored to his feet once again, standing next to Harry, tail wagging. "Come," she waited for the dog to start moving before issuing the command to "halt" when he was halfway in between her and Harry. "Very good. Now come." She fed him a small treat that she had conjured up once Snuffles had reached her, obediently sat in front of her and barked on command. "You may return to your master," she smiled rather pleased. Potter seemed to have chosen his friend well.

"Wait. One last command," she called out just as Sirius was again approaching Harry. "Attack."

Snuffles looked over his shoulder back at her, doing his best to look puzzled. He then turned his head back up to Harry, as if asking for clarification of the order, pretending not to understand the word at all.

She nodded her approval. "Good. I was afraid that it might have been possible that he had been trained to attack on command. I'm glad to see that is not the case. Snuffles has passed. You may return to the dormitories, Mr. Potter," she waved the two out, plucking a spare piece of parchment from her desk and scrawling a note to Dumbledore informing him of the dog's obedience and permission to stay.

**--**

Harry found his best friends awaiting his return, sitting impatiently in the common room. Once they saw him enter however, they immediately clamored over to his side. "Well? Does he get to stay?" Ron asked expectantly as Harry led Padfoot further into the Gryffindor common room.

"Of course he does! Otherwise Harry would have come in alone," Hermione clucked, shaking her head slightly. Men were so dense sometimes. She crouched down to give Snuffles a hug, grinning up at Harry. "I knew he could do it!" She beamed at Sirius, babbling at him in a babyish voice as she ruffled his hair.

Harry winced at the tone, instantly feeling bad for Sirius. It was one thing to speak like that to a dog or to an actual baby, but to speak that way to a full grown man? He wondered if it grated on his godfather's ears as much as it did his own. Probably more, he thought, after all, Sirius's hearing was probably better in his canine form.

Harry yawned, trying to cover the gesture with his hand. Sirius however caught sight of it and let out a yawn of his own in agreement. He was more than ready for bed. The incident with the dementors had worn him out more than he would have liked to admit. He suspected that Peter was hiding, that the rat knew why he had broken out, and why he was now at Hogwarts with Harry. He wouldn't be able to hide forever.

Snuffles licked Hermione's cheek in farewell before turning around and trotting up to the boys' dormitories. He hadn't wanted to upset the girl by completely brushing her off, and last that he knew dogs did that to people. Yes, he thought she was rather annoying, but she was a friend of Harry's, and therefore he could not do anything that might set her off. He waited a few steps up for his godson to follow after he had said his own good nights and together they made their way to Harry's bed.

Sirius hopped up onto it, walking around in a circle before settling down comfortably in a corner as Harry changed into his pajamas. Harry ruffled the fur on top of his godfather's head, whispering a soft good night before he too made himself comfortable and drifted off.

**TBC…**


	5. Remus

**AN:** Revised. Hopefully by the end of next week, all revision will be completed.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Kindness of Strangers**

**REMUS**

Sirius woke up in the middle of the night and carefully hopped off the bed, trying his best not to disturb Harry. He needed to work on gaining the trust of that cat. The last thing he needed was for the cat to give him away. Thankfully though, they'd gotten off to a good start, unlike the cat and the rat. That would be beneficial to him. He just had to make sure the cat knew that he was a friend and was after the rat as well.

Remus Lupin knocked on the large double doors that led to the Head Master's office, apprehension filling him. He hesitated when permission was given for him to enter, finally entering after Dumbledore had called for him to come in for the second time. He took a seat across from the wizened wizard, a large mahogany desk filling the space in between them. He wasn't yet sure if he was doing the right thing in coming to the Headmaster, but he thought it wise to at least alert the man that he was on edge about Harry's companion.

"Is there something I could help you with Remus?" twinkling blue eyes looked up over half moon spectacles at the young man. He was interested to know what had prompted this visit from the new teacher.

Taking a deep breath, the werewolf steeled his nerves as he took a seat. "I wanted to speak with you about Harry's pet." He fidgeted slightly in his chair, but tried to keep his slight movements restricted so as not to alert the man to just how nervous he truly was. James was dead and Remus wasn't quite ready to tarnish his friend's image by betraying their secret. They had been lucky to keep it a secret from Dumbledore while they were still at school. To admit to it now, would not only taint James' memory, but his own reputation for allowing them to do it without a word to any of the teachers.

"Alright," he smiled, leaning back in his chair comfortably, interlacing his fingers upon his desk. He wasn't sure what about Snuffles should bother the man so, but he hoped to find out. He hadn't personally been that close to the animal, and as such, he could not say much about him except that he did appear to be trained and obedient. He had after all passed the Deputy Headmistress' test.

"Why is the dog here? I don't quite understand. I thought only owls, cats, and toads were allowed," Remus carefully added the last to his question, hoping to distract the man a bit from what he really wanted to say. He wanted Albus to say that he already knew the dog was Sirius Black and that his friend was truly innocent. That, however, was unlikely to ever happen.

The Headmaster was silent for several moments, trying to figure out just why his newest teacher was so concerned with the slight bend in the rules. "As you know, Harry left the protection the Dursley's home offered him over the summer holidays. He did not believe he was entirely safe on his own, and so he picked up Snuffles at a local pound. He owled me, asking for permission to bring Snuffles along with him to school. I am aware that his friend Mr. Weasley has been bringing his pet rat with him. I did not see it fit to decline Harry's request under the circumstances, even though dogs are not on the list of pets allowed. If I were to deny Harry I would also be required to send home the rat as well. Seeing as how the Dursleys will not take care of Snuffles, I have agreed to allow him to stay provided that he behaves himself. Is that sufficient enough? If it becomes a problem, I will instruct Hagrid to look after the animal for Harry."

"Yes, sir, but, what if Snuffles is truly dangerous to Harry?" Remus asked almost hesitantly. He owed it to James to make sure nothing happened to his son. He often wondered if he should have played a bigger part in young Harry's life. James would have liked that, but for some reason he hadn't, but maybe he should have. He didn't even have a good excuse for not seeing Harry. He should have.

Dumbledore chuckled softly, immediately dismissing the idea. "Now, now Remus. I know it's still hard for you to accept James and Lily's deaths, but I assure you, Harry will not be going anywhere anytime soon while he remains at this school. He deserves more credit than he is usually given," the wizard paused when a large barn owl swooped through the open window and perched on the edge of the desk holding out its leg where an almost regal looking parchment was attached. He quickly divested the bird of its burden, scanned its contents and scrawled a quick reply. He fed the Ministry owl a small treat as he attached the smaller parchment and sent her off.

Putting down the letter, Dumbledore returned to the conversation, picking up where he had left off, "the boy has done well given the right tools. Snuffles has been with him for almost three weeks, the majority of the time, they have been alone. The dog is obviously an intelligent creature. If he had wanted to hurt Harry, he would have done so. Now, I have no reason to believe that Snuffles will be of any danger. Unless you have any reason to doubt Snuffles' integrity, may I consider this discussion complete? It seems I am needed at the Ministry. I do apologize for the need to cut this meeting short," the Headmaster apologized, although he didn't sound entirely all that apologetic in Remus' opinion. The man didn't even seem to deem that the situation was worthy of his attention, a fact that irritated the wolf in him. At the very least, the man should have offered to look into the matter further. Albus had, however, given him something to think about.

"No, I was just worried for Harry's sake, Professor," Lupin murmured softly, seeing himself out, shutting the door quietly behind him. He closed his eyes leaning against the shut door once he retreated back to his own quarters. Dumbledore had mentioned something interesting, something about Harry's friend. His friend Ron had a rat with him. If he remembered correctly he had seen the boy and his family in the Daily Prophet over the holidays. Come to think of it, he had seen the rat on the boy's shoulder, but he hadn't given it a second thought. Perhaps it was time to do so. If he also remembered correctly, News of Sirius' escape had occurred shortly after that picture appeared in the paper.

"Okay, books away, wands out. Today will be a practical lesson," Remus smiled around at all the students. He almost laughed at the shocked expressions most of them had. He'd heard about the two previous 'teachers' this particular class had experienced before him. Neither had been very adept at teaching, nor had they made it a hands-on class like it should be. He felt that the only way to protect one's self from the Dark Arts was to have a first hand experience with it. It wasn't enough to simply know what to do. One had to be capable of performing the defense strategies when the occasion came up. Knowing what to do and doing it were two very different things. Harry and those close to him especially needed to be able to perform under real situations. If they couldn't, there was a very real chance that they would not survive the war.

As far as the students were concerned, the lesson went surprisingly well. They had had fun as well as learned something. The students filed out of the room chatting amongst each other about the day's lesson. No one could say that they'd ever had a better DADA class. The only one that could compare to it was their first class the year before with Professor Lockhart when he let loose the Cornish Pixies to terrorize the class. That must have been similar to what Professor Lupin had been talking about. Lockhart had seemed to know what to do, but he hadn't been able to actually get it to work.

Harry had been the only one unable to attempt facing the boggart. He wasn't sure why he had not been allowed to try, but felt that it had something to do with fainting on the train. Perhaps the teacher thought him unfit to face he greatest fear. Though to be honest, he really didn't want to see another dementor for as long as he lived. Once was more than enough.

"Harry, will you stay after please?" Remus called over the heads of his students to the boy in question. It was better to get this confrontation out of the way as soon as possible.

"Yes, Professor," Harry answered, stopping near the last desk and placing his bag upon it. Sirius obediently remained by his side, looking apprehensively up at his godson. This couldn't be anything good. It had to be about him.

Remus waited until the door had shut behind the last student before addressing Harry. "Would it be possible to leave Snuffles in the hall or send him on with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley while we chat?" he asked politely, keeping one eye on the dog's reaction as he did so.

Harry glanced down at the dog beside him, wondering if he should keep his godfather with him or do what the Professor wished. Snuffles stood up, wagging his tail cheerfully as he nudged Harry's hand with his nose trying to convey that everything should be alright without him. The young wizard seemed to understand and held the classroom door open for him, telling him to go catch up with Ron and Hermione and head back to Gryffindor tower with them. He'd be along shortly.

"I suppose so. He should be alright for a few minutes. This won't take long will it, Professor?" his gaze returned to the Professor, curious green gaze covering his nerves. He knew this would be about his godfather, but he wondered just how the teacher came to suspect that his dog was not actually what he seemed.

"No, no. Won't take long at all, Harry," Remus smiled trying to set the boy at ease as he motioned for him to sit down while simultaneously casting a silencing charm on the room to ensure that no one but himself or Harry would be able to overhear their conversation. "How are you feeling? No lasting effects from the train ride I hope," he continued as the boy took the seat as well as a bit of chocolate that was offered. He nibbled on his own piece as he waited for the boy to respond.

"Oh, uh, no. I'm fine. But why did the dementors affect me like that? No one else fainted or anything," Harry looked down at his hands, avoiding the man's eyes. He felt like such a fool, weak. Malfoy had been using every chance he got to simulate his fainting spell. No one knew how it had felt for him, to hear the woman's screaming, to see the blinding green light, and to finally hear the high pitched laughter. When a dementor came near him, he heard his mother's death replayed in his mind.

"It's because of your past. Anyone who's been through what you have would have the same reaction, Harry. Anyone. Most students in this school have never had to face anything other than minor disappointments or detached trauma. You've witnessed great trauma first hand. Most don't. I doubt there are any your age who have seen worse than you have. It's a natural reaction for someone with a background like yours. Nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about," Remus murmured gently perching on the edge of a nearby desk.

"Oh... all right, but that isn't what you really wanted to talk to me about though was it?" Harry took a bite of the chocolate bar, watching the professor carefully.

Remus fidgeted a little, adverting his eyes from the piercing green stare so like Lily's had been. "No. No, it wasn't, Harry. I wanted to talk to you about Sirius Black." Lupin watched Harry nod as if he had expected as much. "You were staying with the Dursleys when he broke out. How did you learn of his escape?"

"It was on the Muggle news. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were watching it. I happened to catch it," he shrugged taking another bite of the treat, looking around the class room as if it fascinated him the way his new professor had arranged it. It wasn't a lie, but this conversation was only going to go downhill from there.

The professor nodded, accepting the answer, although he was quite aware that much had been left out of it. "Alright, but what gave you the idea that he was after you. I do not believe the news would have given out that kind of information," Lupin reasoned, gesturing with his hand as he leant forward, his interest piquing. Harry was intelligent, he knew that. Any son of James and Lily had to be. Anyone who could have consciously defeated Voldemort twice already had to be, although, he supposed that it was truly three times if he included the time when he was just an infant.

Harry offered another shrug, indicating that he really hadn't been quite positive, but had wanted to be safe all the same. "I guess I just assumed. If he had been a normal Muggle escapee, they would have said where he escaped from and which direction he was heading. Not to mention where they thought he was going. With everything that's been happening to me, along with seeing the man's picture in a photo album I have, I put two and two together. Dumbledore didn't deny it when I wrote to him, so..." his voice trailed off as he finished his explanation. He was thankful that he had decided to glance at the photo album after meeting Sirius, just to see if there were any pictures that had included him in it.

Lupin sighed, finishing off the last bit of his chocolate. He had been hoping that Harry would tell him the truth, since he knew that couldn't have been it. "Harry, what do you know about Sirius?" he tried asking, wondering if it would give him any different information that his other questions had.

"Not much. Why don't you call him Black like everyone else does?" Harry tilted his head to the side in curiosity. Did the professor know him? Perhaps he could turn the conversation around for a while and delay the inevitable.

A sigh could be heard once more coming from the teacher as he recognized the diversion tactic. This was going to be longer than he thought if Harry kept trying to dodge answers. However, Harry's careful wording had led him to the answer he had dreaded. The dog had to be Sirius if Harry was omitting so much information, and very carefully walking around what he was trying to get at. Somehow the man had gained the boy's trust in the time that they were together. That could very well prove to be a hopeful sign, or more than likely an unfortunate obstacle to work with. "He was a friend of mine from school, now please answer the question." He did _not _want to talk about what had happened. He had thought once that he could trust Sirius, but that trust had been badly misplaced. Or at least, everything seemed to point to that conclusion.

"So that means you knew my dad! Sirius was at my father's wedding. It looked like he was the best man. You're Remus!" Harry slapped both hands over his mouth in panic. He hadn't meant to say that. He really hadn't. The professor hadn't given his first name yet, so as of yet he wasn't supposed to know it. The man had to be Remus, the werewolf that inspired them to become animagi! No wonder why Sirius tried to avoid the teacher in close proximity. That complicated things a bit, and now he'd just seriously screwed up. He had been doing so well, too.

"Harry, where did you hear my first name?" Remus asked slowly, suspiciously. Inwardly, the man cheered, finally finding an obvious opening towards getting Harry to admit verbally to the dog's identity.

Harry brought his hands down again as he relaxed. There were many ways he could have found out. Teachers tended to refer to others by their first name so he could have overheard it in the halls. "Hermione," he blushed a bit as if he were pretending to be embarrassed about his friend's obsession for information. "She likes knowing those things. She's practically memorized Hogwarts: A History," Harry explained, as if a little pained an embarrassed to admit to knowing such a bookworm.

The giddiness he had felt at the earlier admission died down with the rather reasonable explanation. It hadn't taken him long to see for himself just how studious the girl was. Not to mention Severus' less than fond nickname for her that he had overhead. "The insufferable know-it-all," as the Potions Master had called her when he had been asked about the golden trio. Remus leaned forward onto his elbows on the desk after taking a more comfortable position behind it. This was going to be longer than he thought. He closed his eyes as a sigh escaped him. He regretted not getting a better look at Harry's pet on the train. It had been dark and when he had been able to catch sight of it, the beast had been largely hidden from his view by Harry's body leaning over it. He hadn't been able to get as close a look at the mutt as he would have liked. If Harry had a reasonable answer for everything, maybe he really was just being paranoid.

He had seen the two at dinner the night before, but the distance between them along with the fact that it had been rather crowded hindered his inspection of the canine. Yet still, somehow he had just known it was Sirius. He had _known!_ He wasn't one to believe in coincidences which meant that the dog's true form was that of a wizard his own age. Maybe he had been wrong about his friend though. Dumbledore had said that the animal had been alone with Harry for weeks. If Sirius were really out to kill Harry, he would have had the perfect opportunity over the break. Dumbledore hadn't even been able to find the pair. If that were true then it would only have been too easy to dispose of Harry and remain hiding himself. If he remembered correctly, Grimmauld could not be plotted...

He shook his head sadly, dismayed by his wishful thinking. Sirius had to be just waiting for the right moment. Perhaps he was working to gain the boy's trust and then lead him to Voldemort. Black was no longer who he remembered. He had to stop forgetting that. Black had killed Peter, their friend. Sure he was slightly annoying at times and they wished he weren't around as often as he had been, but that didn't mean that Remus had wanted him to die. What had happened to the Marauders? The future had looked so bright while they had been in school, even with the threat of the Dark Lord hanging over the wizarding world's heads. "Why are you hiding Sirius?" he asked softly, looking up at the boy.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Professor," Harry forced his voice to sound confident, even though he truly didn't feel it. He was pleased when his voice came out even and strong.

"I think you do. Now, if you would be kind enough to tell me why," Remus pressed, refusing to back down just because the boy was not being cooperative.

"Professor, I don't know what you're talking about," Harry reiterated, managing to make his voice sound truly quizzical as if he honestly had no idea why the teacher thought he might be protecting the escaped convict.

"Harry, just tell me why you're protecting him. What has he told you?" he leaned forward again slightly, not once taking his eyes of the green ones that stared straight back at him. "I won't let you leave this room until you tell me. If I must, I will ask Severus for one of his truth serums. I believe that he would love to have the pleasure of questioning you himself and I doubt that he will be as receptive to your answers." Obviously being genial was not going to work, and though he was loathed to do it, it seemed that threats were necessary.

The two sat in silence for long moments as Harry thought over his options. He sighed, looking down at his hands slightly for a moment or two before looking up again. He had precious few options, and the one least likely to wind up putting his godfather back in prison was to confess to this man. They had been friends once, and perhaps he could use that to gain the professor's trust once more. "That he's innocent," Harry murmured, staring intently at his professor. He wanted to fidget, to look around the room, to look somewhere other than at the man across from him. Doing so, however, would imply that he was lying and he couldn't remember being more sure of anything in his life. He wanted Professor Lupin to know that.

The teacher's face looked slightly crestfallen at the admonition. In truth, he had hoped that Harry would hold out and prove him wrong, that his pet was not the murderer in disguise. He couldn't bare to face Sirius knowing what he had done, remembering all they had been through when they had been young. "You do realize that he isn't, don't you?" Lupin said quietly, his tone holding just as much conviction as Harry's had held, though a deep weariness had entered his tone.

Emerald eyes blazed with passion as his desire to protect his godfather surged within him. "But he is! Professor, you can't send him back to Azkaban! You can't!" Harry leaned forward earnestly, as if his conviction alone would be enough to sway the professor into believing him.

Lupin sighed, shaking his head sadly. That was something he couldn't promise Harry. Sirius was guilty and it was his job to see to it that Sirius returned to where he belonged. Harry's feelings for the man could not be allowed to play into the mix. "Harry, he's dangerous. I understand that he somehow fooled you into believing him, but whatever he's told you it isn't true. He's using you to stay out of Azkaban and to help Voldemort return to power," he explained patiently.

"He is not," Harry ground out, his fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to storm out, to stop hearing his professor's words, but if he left, Lupin would tell Dumbledore and send Sirius back to the dementors. His only chance to clear his god father's name was to convince this man of his innocence. If he couldn't, there was no hope that he would be able to convince anyone. "He was a friend of yours. Do you honestly think he was capable of doing that to his best friend? He's not who you think he is. He's not Peter," Harry spat the name out, hoping that just bringing up the traitors name in such a way would arouse questions in the man.

The professor blinked at hearing such venom used to speak Peter's name. He could not recal anyone ever using such a tone when speaking of his old friend. Most spoke his name with such pity, but never anger. "What does Peter have to do with anything? He's dead because he thought he could take Sirius on. He should have known better." Remus closed his eyes, forcing the painful memories to stay back behind the confines of his mind.

"More like hiding in terror because Sirius is around again," Harry muttered bitterly, slumping back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. He was pleased that at least he had distracted the teacher from immediately sending Sirius back to Azkaban.

"What?" Amber eyes immediately snapped open as Remus looked up sharply at the boy. Was he saying that Peter was alive? Could it truly be possible that Sirius had not killed him?

Harry's confidence tone once more returned as it became apparent that he finally had the teacher actually listening to him instead of actively trying to make him believe that Sirius was guilty. "Peter's here. I've seen him, and I believe Sirius is innocent," he stated confidently, his back straightening, his chin rising defiantly.

He hadn't given the rat much thought before, but could it really be what Harry was implying? Could _that_ have been the reason Sirius broke out? And _not_ to go after Harry? It would be more logical than Sirius betraying James and Lily. "Ron's rat, am I right?" he questioned, frantically trying to put all the pieces together in his mind.

"Yes, Sirius saw him in the Daily Prophet. Fudge gave it to him," he answered quickly, nodding his head emphatically as a smile began to tug at his lips. It was obvious that he had finally broken through the broken record of "Sirius is guilty" that the professor had been playing since the conversation had turned from dementors to his godfather.

Remus sighed, losing himself in thought for a few moments. He looked up what seemed like a lifetime later to Harry, "I'd like you to bring Snuffles to the Room of Requirement tomorrow night after the evening meal. Snuffles will know where it is. I'd like to speak with both of you. I'm not saying I believe you, yet, and I'm not saying that I won't have the headmaster send him back to Azkaban. I won't make any promises. However, I will wait to do anything until I have the chance to speak with him. Be there. You may return to your common room now."

**TBC…**


	6. Peter

**AN:** Revised chapter. At least preliminary revision. I may be making more changes to it after I get in contact with the two people I have chosen as Betas. For those I didn't choose, it wasn't anything personal. I just chose those I felt that I would get along with best, and who had an example of their writing. I do hope you are all still willing to point out any plot holes or errors that you may find in the future as I do appreciate it very much. As such, I have fixed the problem of the disappearing luggage. Peter's behavior will be explained as I go along, I hope.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Kindness of Strangers**

**PETER**

"... I'm not saying I believe you, yet, and I'm not saying that I won't have the headmaster send him back to Azkaban. I won't make any promises. However, I will wait to do anything until I have the chance to speak with him. Be there. You may return to your common room now," Professor Remus Lupin murmured, dismissing Harry. 'I hope I won't have to turn him in... It's been lonely as the last Marauder,' Remus mused to himself.

Harry nodded in quiet understanding, turning and exiting the classroom. He took off at a jog towards the Gryffindor common room. He nearly forgot the password in his rush to get inside and tell Sirius about what the professor had said. Once inside, he sprawled out on a cushy chair by the fireplace as Ron, Hermione and Snuffles herded around him. He had hoped to speak to his godfather alone, but that was obviously not going to happen for a while.

"It was about Snuffles, wasn't it Harry?" Hermione asked taking one of the seats across from him, Ron the other. Snuffles sat at his godson's feet, resting his muzzle on the boy's knee, staring up at him with large luminous eyes.

He nodded, "he wants me to bring him to the Room of Requirement tomorrow." The large dog nudged Harry's hand, wanting him to pet him as well as to let him know that he understood. Frankly, he was surprised that Remus had given them any time. Perhaps there was still hope that the professor trusted him, or at least had enough doubt about his apparent guiltiness. Sirius really couldn't blame his friend for believing him to be guilty. He did have a tendency to fly off the handle at times, and it couldn't have been easy listening to everyone's cries of guilty for so many years. Perhaps, for a while Remus had thought him innocent, but over the years maybe he had just given up. Peter had been Remus' friend, too. It could not have been easy trying to honor both of their memories.

"Where?" Ron's face went blank. He'd never heard of any such room. His brothers hadn't mentioned it either and they knew pretty much everything there was to know about Hogwarts somehow.

"I have no idea. I expect that he'll tell me how to get there tomorrow," the Gryffindor explained, yawning slightly. The professor had actually told him that Padfoot would get him to the room, but as he hadn't told Ron or Hermione that Padfoot was anything other than a dog, he couldn't very well tell them that.

"Oh," Ron muttered as if Harry's response was the most obvious answer.

"Do you think he'll believe us?" Harry asked his godfather quietly as he curled up in bed late after everyone else had fallen asleep. His voice was still groggy from sleep seeing as how the large black dog had woken him up only moments before. Shortly after having doing so, Sirius resumed his human form, laying on his side close to the wall and facing Harry.

He brushed a few strands of hair out of the boy's face tenderly as he watched him struggle to remain awake. "Perhaps. I think he wants to which is why he gave us this grace period, but that doesn't mean much. He won't accept our word alone. He's going to need some kind of proof. Do you happen to have any photos of Scabbers?" Sirius asked, doubtful that they could actually obtain the rat before the meeting without Ron attempting to kill them for hurting his beloved pet. How someone could grow that attached to such a pathetic little lump of flesh was beyond him. He hadn't even been that devoted to the boy as a human and supposed friend. There was a time when he would have died for Peter, so he supposed that he could understand where Ron was coming from… It was just difficult to put into perspective while knowing what the rat had done.

The boy gave a slight nod, yawning before he attempted to answer. "Nh... Yeah, I do. Ron brings him almost everywhere," he curled up a little bit more, rubbing his eye with his fist tiredly.

"Good. We'll need them tomorrow," he answered quietly, not willing to have anyone wake up and catch them. Not only would he be dragged back to Azkaban, but Harry would be expelled as well. He had just found the boy and he wasn't willing to give up his only family. He already thought of the small boy as his son and he wasn't about to let anything happen to him because of him.

"Alright, Sirius," Harry yawned again, his head turning into the pillow to hide it.

The man sighed softly, wishing it were safe for the boy to call him that, but it wasn't. Not yet anyway. He should have put up a silencing charm, but he hadn't seen the need at the time. Perhaps, next time he would so that they could talk honestly and openly. No more silly secret code names. "Harry..." he reminded softly before he shifted back to his canine form.

"Sorry," he murmured before falling back asleep, pulling the large black dog close to him, burying his nose in the soft fur. It wasn't long after that that his breathing evened out in his sleep.

Professor Lupin kept his eyes on Harry and his pet all throughout supper, occasionally he would take his eyes off of them to speak to one of the other professors nearby, but it was never long before his amber eyes returned to the pair. He left as soon as the students were dismissed, leaving out one of the back doors to avoid the crowds as he made his way towards the Room of Requirement.

The pair separated from Ron and Hermione, quietly sneaking off down the opposite corridor, the large black dog leading the way. He brought Harry through several secret passageways that he had never seen before as they tried to make it there as quickly as possible. The sooner they got there, the sooner it would be over with. Sirius led him to a familiar corridor, but there was a door there that Harry had never seen before and he looked at it curiously. His god father had explained to him about the room, but he hadn't imagined that it would be in plain sight. Thankfully, everyone was returning to their dorms, so the hallway was deserted.

Once inside, the door closed behind them. Remus was already sitting there behind a large desk, giving him an air of importance, of seriousness. A cold wet nose nudged Harry's hand before the dog disappeared and a full grown wizard took its place at Harry's side, one hand resting on the boy's shoulder protectively.

"I'm surprised, Sirius Black," Lupin murmured honestly, watching the scene before him. He had expected Sirius to remain as a beast until he was forced into his natural form, but apparently his old friend was full of surprises, as well as confidence it seemed. Silver eyes met his amber head on with no hesitation, no fear.

Sirius simply winced at the tone his old friend was currently using with him, but held his gaze steady. Remus' voice had held a slight undercurrent of distrust that did not go unnoticed. "You're not stupid Rem," he answered softly, knowing it was pointless not to face Remus as a man. By not doing so, it would only prove that he had something to hide.

The professor nodded, leaning back in his chair slightly, arms crossed loosely over his chest as he waited, "I'm not going to give you a substantial amount of time, so I suggest the explanation starts now." He wondered what he had done to cause him to be sitting there, waiting for one of his closest friends to prove that they weren't a murderer. His life had already been strange enough having been bitten when he was young. Wasn't this kind of stuff supposed to be spread around? Instead, it seemed to stick with a few people, the Marauders being four of them. No matter what they went through, something else always seemed to come up.

The photos Harry had brought with him were carelessly tossed onto desk in front of Remus for his inspection. Words were not necessary, the pictures were enough for him as he flipped through them, his belief in Harry's conviction of his godfather's innocence growing with each one. He couldn't mistake that the rat in the pictures was indeed Peter. He had seen the boy transform hundreds of times. Unlike with his first time seeing Sirius' animagus form, there were no dark shadows to hide the rat's features. He had to be sure though. This was murder they were discussing. "Peter?"

"Yes," the convict answered simply, eyes remaining unblinking.

Remus looked up at him, a curious expression upon his face, "But how?"

"The biggest piece they found was his thumb. _All_ they found was his thumb," Harry answered quietly, remembering someone telling him previously.

Remus flipped through the pictures again, indeed seeing that the rat was missing a toe on his front paw. "Ingenuous," he murmured, looking up almost as if in awe.

"Yes, he had me fooled as well. That is, until I saw this," Sirius drew another picture from his pocket, an old Daily Prophet clipping of the Weasley's in Egypt, Scabbers on Ron's shoulder in the center. "Fudge gave his paper to me when I asked to do the crosswords. This picture just happened to be in it," Sirius explained, watching as his friend nodded, understanding immediately that the picture had been his incentive to escape. There had been someone whom needed his protection. No one would have thought to protect Harry from a rat. They were all too focused on protecting him from Voldemort and Death Eaters.

"Does anyone else know? Ron? Hermione?" he asked, looking up again quickly, his eyes training on Harry.

The student shook his head, "no, they haven't been told about anything yet. Ron would never believe me if I told him about Peter, and I don't think either of them would act natural around Sirius if they knew the truth about Snuffles. Besides that, Hermione would ask questions about why Sirius was here and not hiding someplace else that was safer. It was just easier all around to simply say that I had picked up a dog for protection while on my own for the summer." He glanced at Sirius apologetically, feeling rather silly calling him a dog while he was in his human form. The man, however, merely laughed softly, ruffling the already messy black hair with an affection that was impossible to fake.

"Probably best. It would be easier to trap Peter into a false sense of security," he nodded, pleased that they had yet to tell the pair. From what he had gathered, Ron would be a horrible actor and Hermione would spend her time studying the rat and more than likely alerting him that they were onto him. It hadn't escaped his notice that his friend and Harry had obviously become close during their time together before school. James would have been happy to see them getting along so well. It was sad, however, that it could not be James getting to know his son. It would have been better had they become ghosts. At least then, Harry would have been given a chance to know them.

"So. When do I get my hug now that I've proved I'm not a murderer?" Sirius teased, drawing the professor from his musings as he held his arms out expectantly as Harry stood by and grinned.

Harry grinned as he helped Sirius up and into the common room through the hole in the wall, eager to tell his friends the good news. Of course, it was modified good news, but good news nonetheless. Remus was no longer wary of Snuffles.

Scabbers sat on Ron's lap, nibbling on the sweets that covered it. He listened carefully to Harry as he spoke, keeping one eye on the dog as well. Things were not looking good for him. He'd been hoping that Remus would send Sirius back to Azkaban, but obviously that had not happened unfortunately. While Harry had not said so to his friends, he wasn't stupid enough to believe that Remus had no clue that Snuffles was indeed Black. He could only wonder how much Harry knew about the situation. Did Harry know that he was the rat? Did Harry know that he had been the one to tell Voldemort where to find him?

//I think they're on to me... Sirius has to be at the very least,// he took a small bit out of a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean, spitting it back out when he tasted vomit. //He's got to know it's me... But, has he told Harry yet? I thought so at first, but now I'm not so sure. I know Harry is capable of lying to teachers. I've seen him do it... But to his friends? I don't know. I've never seen him do it yet. Of course, that doesn't mean he can't. It just means that it's unlikely. Perhaps Sirius really hasn't told him yet about me... If that's the case then I'm safe for now. Harry wouldn't let anyone hurt his best friend's pet. Besides I bit that boy for them back in first year. Ron still talks about that.// If he could have sighed he would have done so in relief, finally coming to the conclusion that Ron and Harry would stick up for him. He just had to make sure that he stayed with Ron and was never alone with Sirius or Remus. He hated to admit it, but currently, his biggest protector was the young Weasley. Until he could form a plan on where he could go, he was stuck.

**TBC…**


	7. Dinner

**Authour's**** Note:** **NO, I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ANY OF MY STORIES. **I'm now in college, studying architecture, or as my college likes to affectionately call it, "The suicide major" because it takes up so much time. I'm sorry if it takes me a while to get chapters out, but I really do try my best and ask you to please be patient. 

**Disclaimer:** not mine unfortunately.

**Ch.**** 7**

"Your move, Harry," Ron murmured, absentmindedly picking up a sweet from the small pile next to the board game in between his best friend and himself. They'd sat down an hour or so ago to play wizard's chess and since then, Ron had beaten Harry twice and was about to do so again by the looks of it. //If only they could see Boy Wonder now// he crowed silently, his eyes dancing with excitement. Sure Harry was his best friend, but Harry outshined him at everything. He had been forced to stay a shadow to him, which irked him considerably. It made him ecstatic to be able to say he was better than Harry at _some_thing. He'd even managed to make the twins proud of him back in first year when he had beaten McGonagall's giant chess board.

Harry sat quietly for a few minutes, trying to figure out if there was any possible way to prevent Ron from checkmating him in his next move or two. "Knight to E5," he called out, already resigning himself to losing as the piece moved. He sighed as Ron's queen took his knight, effectively putting him into check. "King to D3," he winced as Ron moved once again.

"Checkmate," he grinned, stuffing a chocolate frog into his mouth. "Wonnuh 'ay agou?" he asked around the mouthful of chocolate. He swallowed, trying again, "wann play again, Har?"

"Um... I think I'm set for now," he offered a lopsided grin, reaching down to pet Snuffles' head. He blinked looking over the side of the chair when his hand made contact with air instead of fur. "Did you see where Snuffles went?" he glanced up at Ron questioningly.

The boy shook his head in the negative. He had been too focused on beating Harry to have noticed when the large, hard to miss, creature disappeared from beside the chair. "No. Any idea when he left?"

Green eyes widened as a growl reached his ears. He glanced around, trying to find the source of the low rumble. His eyes finally settled on his godfather, crouched down near Ron's chair as if readying himself to pounce at him. Slowly his eyes strayed over to Ron, catching sight of Scabbers sitting in his friend's lap. "Ron..." Harry warned softly, his eyes darting back quickly to Sirius.

Ron screamed as the dog lunged, aiming for his pet rat, instinctively, scooping him up in both hands as the chair was knocked over, sending both he and the dog sprawling onto the floor. Somehow he managed to keep hold of the small struggling creature, earning himself a few scratches and bites for his trouble.

"Snuffles no!" Harry yelled, grabbing hold of the dog's neck since there was no collar to grab. He wrapped his arms tightly around him, hauling him back away from his friend, using all his strength to do so. In both forms, his godfather was considerably stronger than he, but Sirius allowed himself to be pulled back nonetheless, still growling. "Leave Scabbers alone! He isn't a chew toy!"

Ron was seething, glaring at the dog for all he was worth as he continued to hold tightly to his rat. He sat up slowly with some difficulty due to the lack of help from his hands. "Great! Not only is that crazy cat after him, so is Snuffles! What did he ever do to them? Huh? He's sick! And they aren't helping!" the boy shrieked, stuffing the rat into his shirt pocket and holding his hand over it to keep from letting him escape. "Keep him away from him!"

"I'm trying to!" Harry yelled back, quite frustrated with his godfather's struggling. "Snuffles! Stop it! It's just Scabbers. Leave him alone. I'll scratch your ears if you leave him alone," he goaded, trying to get the dog to calm down again and stop growling. As soon as the offer reached the canine's ears, he immediately relaxed, stilling in his godson's hold. He tilted his head just slightly in Harry's direction, reminding him of the bargain just made. Harry grudgingly sat back in his chair, scratching the base of Snuffles' ears.

"Why do they both hate him? He didn't do anything to them!" Ron huffed, righting his chair again and sitting back down, eyeing Sirius distrustfully. Large silvery grey orbs stared back at him innocently, a mouth hanging open slightly as he panted from exertion. Sirius looked to be in pure bliss as Harry's hand continued to attentively scratch his head. 

"I really am sorry, Ron. I've never seen him do that before. He's lazy yeah, but I don't see why either should want to attack him for that," Harry conceded, inwardly cringing at his words, but his outside presence continued to be one of mild confusion and sympathy. In truth, he wanted to kill the rat himself for betraying his parents. It was his fault that they were dead and why his godfather had been sent to Azkaban instead of raising him. He wondered if the rat ever felt guilty for what he had done. Somehow, he felt that he knew the answer to that.

Ron scoffed, still glaring at the dog as if the man were being rewarded for his actions, instead of bribed to halt them. His hand slowly pulled away from his pocket as the struggling within ceased finally. He sighed in relief, glancing down at his hands with a small scowl on his face. His hands were a mess of scratches because of him, and throbbed dully. "He's not always lazy. He bit Crabbe and Goyle for us back in first year. Remember?" he asked. He couldn't remember which it had been that the rat had bitten, so he covered both bases and simply mentioned them both. Harry knew what he was talking about.

Harry grinned, recalling the incident, "yeah, he did." It had been rather amusing at the time, but now his thoughts had changed slightly about it. Scabbers hadn't bitten him for them. He had done it for himself, to protect himself. Everything was always about what was best for him. His hand stilled slightly as he began to get lost in his thoughts, but a slight nudge from his godfather brought him back. He clenched his teeth a bit, not enough to make it a noticeable action, as he resumed scratching once again.

*`*`*

Remus met up with the pair that evening after the rest of the castle was in bed. They had decided that the Room of Requirement would be the perfect meeting place for their talks. He had stopped by the kitchens on his way to get dinner for Sirius and snacks for both himself and Harry. He knew that Harry still fed him from the table, but he imagined that his friend would like to eat a meal in his human form once again. Perhaps it would make him feel normal again, if only for a short while. "Snuffles! I've got a doggy bone here with your name on it," he called cheerfully as he entered, holding the plate above his head so that the man wouldn't be able to see what was on it even if he weren't in his canine form. He laughed as he heard a growl, considerably less threatening than it usually sounded. //Apparently Sirius has already switched back from his canine form into his human one// he mused thoughtfully.

The young Gryffindor laughed, watching his godfather's reaction to Professor Lupin's greeting. "I told you that you set yourself up for those kinds of jokes," Harry teased, jabbing the man in his side lightly, earning himself a scowl which only caused him to laugh instead of making him feel threatened.

"Oh be nice," Remus grinned, holding the plate out to him as if it were a peace offering. He chuckled as the plate was nearly ripped from his hands, a second hand holding itself out as Sirius waited for his cutlery. He was eager to dig in to his meal. It had been a while since he had actually been able to feed himself a true meal. Harry had brought him food often enough from the kitchen at night, but never had it been anything more than sandwiches and things easily brought back to the dorm. Anything that needed a fork or knife was out of the question because it was too easily dropped. He and the Marauders had figured that out long ago. Luckily, Filch nor Mrs. Norris had been anywhere near them when it happened.

"Thanks Remy," Sirius' scowl subsided, a pleased smile replacing it as he glanced down at his steak. The house elves always knew the best way to make it. It had been something he had terribly missed after graduating. He plopped himself down on the floor once Remus had given him his fork and knife, leaning back against the wall with the plate on his lap. He savoured the first bite, letting it sit on his tongue, eyes closed as he enjoyed it. "Just as good as it used to be," he murmured happily, sticking a second bite into his mouth.

Wayward black hair went flying as Harry shook his head, still laughing at Sirius' behaviour. He'd never seen adults act so much like kids, except for perhaps Dumbledore, but that was still different. He was more eccentric than immature like Sirius and Remus acted at times. He supposed it was because the last time they had seen each other they had still been young and now they were making up for lost time as well as lost youth. 

"So, how did it go?" Remus asked, directing the question to both of them, but looking at Harry. He expected that Sirius was too caught up in eating to bother to answer it which Harry soon proved to be correct.

"Part one of Plan A was successful. Ron's a bit miffed, but, we knew that would happen. Peter thinks I'm on his side though," Harry grimaced at the idea, the thought of being on Peter's side not sitting well with him, even if it was all an act. 

Remus chuckled lightly at the face Harry was making, as if he had just eaten a foul tasting Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean. "I know, Harry, but it had to be done," he would have suggested that the boy steal a bit of Sirius food to get the taste of his mouth, but he was afraid that Sirius' animal instincts would kick in an he'd bite.

"Now all we have to do is catch him, and prove to Dumbledore that Scabbers is Peter," Sirius mumbled around a mouthful of food, not bothering to look up until he had cleaned his plate. "Delicious," he purred, licking his lips appreciatively as he set the dish aside.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Remus shrugged, unconcerned with the last part. It was the catching Peter and getting him away from Ron that was going to be the problem, especially after Crookshanks as well as Snuffles was now after the rat.

Harry looked up at Remus curiously, "you have an idea?"

"Of course I do. I wasn't a Marauder for nothing, you know," the professor huffed, looking mildly insulted that it had seemed to slip Harry's mind that he had been part of the troublesome four. 

Sirius chuckled, resting a hand on the man's shoulder from behind. "Calm down, Remy. He doesn't know that much about animagi. He's only in his third year," he reminded the teacher, understanding what the man had in store for the rat. He was sure that Harry knew about counter curses, but he doubted that he had been taught yet that one could force an animagi out of their animal form.

Remus nodded, getting the point and smiled at Harry, letting him know that he wasn't upset with him. "We'll give Peter about a month or so at most. Ron needs to be sure that you won't let Snuffles hurt Scabbers. Once that's done, we'll try to arrange it so that Ron needs to be separated from the rat. He would never leave him alone now, so hopefully, he'll give Scabbers to you. Then we can go from there," the professor explained with a tired sigh. "Why don't you take Snuffles back to the dorms and get some sleep. You're going to need it if you want to keep up the act for our friend the rat," he practically sneered with distaste.

"He's right. Come on, Har," Sirius murmured, switching back into his canine form and padding over to the door to wait for his godson.

Harry nodded, opening the door for the grim-like creature and then following him out back towards the tower. Professor Lupin trailed after them, not wanting Harry to get in trouble in case they had been in there longer than he had anticipated. He didn't want Filtch, or worse, Snape catching Harry out of bed after hours.

**TBC...**


	8. Author's Note

**AN: **

This is not a chapter update yet. Sorry.

I just wanted to let you all know that I am finally getting back to this story now that I have free time to work on it.

**If anyone is interested in being my Beta**, let me know. A review would most likely be the best way to contact me as I don't often check my e-mail that I have listed. Just leave a message stating your interest. I'll probably need an active Beta to bounce ideas off of to help keep me focused on getting the story done. I do hope to have it finished by the end of summer, before I start my graduate studies. Just make sure that I have a way to contact you.

Again, I'm sorry that it took me so long to get back to these.


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